Alvernia University is a 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 to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC.
Alvernia offers a unique blend of a rigorous liberal arts core education for development of the mind, strong technical training in many high-demand majors, experiential learning opportunities 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 has resulted in a superior track record of career placements and graduate school opportunities, with 95% of students either employed or enrolled in a graduate program within six months of graduation.
Alvernia is one of only 22 Franciscan institutions in the country with an exceptional education that’s rooted in a commitment to caring for one another and the world around us. Our service learning component seeks to serve all people in the community, particularly people who are impoverished, marginalized, and disempowered.
Alvernia offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and minors uniquely combined with a strong liberal arts foundation as well as five-year master’s degrees in Athletic Training and Occupational Therapy. The University also boasts advanced master’s degrees in Business, Counseling, Education, Leadership, Nursing, and Social Work, plus doctoral degrees in Leadership, Nursing, and Physical Therapy.
Alvernia University ranks in the top 100 among “Best Regional Universities in the North” for 2020 by U.S. News & World Report from the more than 1,500 colleges and universities in the Northeast region of the US. Alvernia is also recognized as a College of Distinction for 2020–2021.
