Gettysburg College

Here, “Do great work” is more than a tagline. We believe that learning means doing and that a college education should prepare our students to be great and do great work.

So often what happens outside of the classroom is a vital extension of what happens inside. If you want to get involved—and most Gettysburg students do—the opportunities are almost endless.

A first-class faculty
Gettysburg College supports a first-class faculty that embraces innovation and cutting-edge developments. The benefit to students is clear: when professors are excited about and engaged with new thinking and discovery, they communicate this enthusiasm and knowledge in the classroom.
This passion for academics is most notably visible in our highly respected First-Year Seminar programs and abundant opportunities for highly personalized student-faculty research across all disciplines.

Programs of distinction
Our distinctive programs and other unique facilities enable us to balance our small-town feel with big-campus resources. Whether our students want to learn about public policy and presidential leadership through the Eisenhower Institute, cultivate their personal leadership style through the Garthwait Leadership Center, engage in diverse perspectives and public interpretations of history through the Civil War Institute, or combine their love of music with their liberal arts education through the Sunderman Conservatory of Music, our students are challenged with programs that inspire them to greatness and push them to the next level every day.

Global classroom
Recognizing the value of preparing tomorrow’s global leaders, Gettysburg College provides opportunities accessible for all students to take their learning out of the classroom and into the world. In fact, nearly 60% of Gettysburg students study abroad for at least one semester at prestigious colleges and universities worldwide, earning us the distinction of being named fourth in the nation—and first in Pennsylvania—for semester-long study abroad experiences by the Institute of International Education.

Getting involved
Outside the classroom, “Gettysburgians” are actively involved in over 120 student organizations—including a Center for Public Service—that cultivate an impressive array of interests, talents, and cultures.

An athletic powerhouse, Gettysburg offers 24 intercollegiate sports for men and women and has captured 105 Centennial titles over the last three-plus decades of competition. Strong recreational and intramural programs give everyone an opportunity to get involved. In fact, over 90% of students participate in one of the campus recreation programs, earning the College the third place ranking on The Princeton Review’s list of top 20 schools where everyone plays intramurals.

During the weekends students can choose from one of over 800 events planned by the Campus Activities Board each year—including concerts, comedians, and coffeehouses; cheering on the Bullets; going on outdoor expeditions; exploring DC museums, taking in a movie or lecture; playing inner tube water polo; competing in a ping-pong tournament or trivia night; and so much more.

Planning a successful future
One of the things that distinguishes Gettysburg College is our commitment to helping students develop a career plan and build their professional network. Through internships, externships, job shadowing, career immersion trips, and networking events, Gettysburg College students are able to connect with alums and gain insight about various career fields. Over 8,000 opportunities for career exploration have been created in the past six years, and more than 80% of students complete at least one internship or externship by the time they graduate. In fact, The Princeton Review ranked us 11^th in the nation for internship opportunities and 14^th in the nation for alumni networks.

All of these opportunities for practical career development and networking, in addition to our graduates’ high rate of job placements just one year after graduation, have earned Gettysburg College the distinction of being one of only 17 liberal arts institutions featured in The Princeton Review’s newest guide, Colleges That Create Futures: 50 Schools That Launch Careers by Going Beyond the Classroom.

Why do great work?
Because there’s serious work to be done. In November of 1863, Abraham Lincoln came to Gettysburg to honor those who had died on the battlefields just footsteps from our campus. Lincoln asked his audience for their dedication to the “unfinished work” that was still ahead—the great work of securing and advancing democracy and lifting the nation out of conflict.

The great tasks before us are different. Our world needs a new generation of thinkers and doers who care about making progress. At Gettysburg we’re here, all of us, to do great work. Work that inspires. Work that matters. Work that changes the world.

Come join us
For information about applying for admission and financial aid availability, please visit gettysburg.edu.