The Alvernia Advantage
Alvernia University is private liberal arts university guided by Franciscan values that serves more than 3,000 students of diverse backgrounds from all over the country. Its main campus operates on 191 acres in Berks County—three miles from the heart of historic Reading, Pennsylvania—and is an easy car ride from Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC.
Alvernia offers a unique blend of rigorous liberal arts core education for development of the mind, strong technical training in many high-demand majors, experiential learning through study abroad and internship experiences, and engagement with the community through our Franciscan-based community service model. We call our model of transformational education the Alvernia Advantage, and we believe this style of education transforms students into ethical leaders with moral courage. The Alvernia Advantage results in a superior track record of career placements and quality graduate school opportunities, with 95% of our students either employed or enrolled in a graduate program within six months of graduation.
Alvernia offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and minors that are uniquely combined with a strong liberal arts foundation as well as five-year master's degrees in Athletic Training and Occupational Therapy. Advanced master’s degrees are offered in Business, Counseling, Education, Leadership, Nursing, and Social Work as well as doctoral degree options in Leadership, Nursing, and Physical Therapy.
Alvernia has a longstanding commitment to helping students develop their innate talents, discover their passions, and lead successful lives with deep meaning and purpose. Through experiential learning, students graduate well prepared for success in the workplace.