Colby College

One of the premier liberal arts and sciences colleges in the United States, Colby College is a private institution located in Waterville, Maine. Colby’s focus on strong academics and student-faculty partnerships, undergraduate research opportunities, and unique connections enrich the student experience and prepare graduates for lifelong success.

Pedagogy grounded in research
Working in partnership with faculty scholars on cutting-edge academic and scientific work, students regularly present at national and international conferences and become authors, coauthors, and editors of articles, editions, and book-length publications. Each spring the Colby Liberal Arts Symposium (CLAS) showcases students’ academic accomplishments, and in 2016 over 750 students presented significant research work through papers, posters, and performances. Every summer students engage in research alongside Colby faculty mentors, both on campus and beyond.

Education with a global reach
Colby connects students to experiential opportunities across the world. Many students intern and conduct research globally, and two-thirds of students study abroad with over 200 programs in 60 countries. Half of Colby’s majors have an international component, and every student fulfills international diversity and foreign language requirements.

Jan Plan: one month, infinite possibilities
Colby’s one-month academic term, Jan Plan, allows students to pursue focused course work on campus or off, independent studies, collaborative research, or internships during an intensive four-week term. For example, students intern at a Fortune 500 company or small nonprofit, study the anthropology of utopias, or travel to Bermuda for a field research course in geology.

Unique partnerships and offerings
• The Colby Museum of Art is the finest college art museum in the country and serves as a living classroom to more than 100 courses in 25 academic departments. Museum partnerships with the Art Institute of Chicago, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Smithsonian Institution offer prestigious internship opportunities for students.

• Colby’s partnership with the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences enables select juniors to work alongside research scientists studying marine ecosystems on the coast of Maine.

• The Center for the Arts and Humanities offers students the opportunity to experience the arts and humanities through an annual campus-wide interdisciplinary theme, vibrant programming featuring renowned speakers from around the world, and humanities labs that provide experiential learning opportunities in a variety of disciplines.

• The College offers two Engineering dual-degree programs. Students can graduate with a Bachelor of Arts from Colby and obtain an Engineering degree from one of two Ivy League institutions: Dartmouth College or Columbia University.

• Colby’s location in Maine provides dynamic experiential learning opportunities through digital humanities labs; the exploration of voter participation, socioeconomics, and immigration; and environmental science and policy research on the Belgrade Lakes and beyond.

Committed to access
The Colby Commitment is an extraordinary effort to ensure that the best students from every background have access to the best possible education. Colby promises to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students without including loans in its financial aid packages so students can focus on their postgraduate goals, not repaying student loan debt. There are no fees or supplementary essays required to apply to Colby.

A robust global community of alumni, parents, faculty, and staff supports students as they pursue internships, study abroad, engage in service learning, and perform research. New programs and initiatives such as the sequential four-year Professional Pathways Exploration and Planning (PPEP) and a new center for discovery, global impact, and postgraduate achievement will offer students multiple opportunities to engage with career counselors, advisors, recruiters, and mentors, and to take advantage of Colby’s partnerships with companies, nonprofits, and international organizations.