Franklin & Marshall College: A Comprehensive Overview

Franklin & Marshall College (F&M), a private liberal arts college situated in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, boasts a rich history and a commitment to academic excellence. Founded in 1787, the institution has evolved into a highly-regarded national liberal arts college, consistently earning recognition for its strong academic programs and vibrant campus community.

Ranking and Recognition

In the 2026 edition of Best Colleges, Franklin & Marshall College is ranked No. 35 in National Liberal Arts Colleges. Its selectivity is further highlighted by its ranking as No. 28 in Lowest Acceptance Rates. This ranking reflects F&M's commitment to providing a rigorous and enriching academic experience.

Campus and Enrollment

The college's campus spans 200 acres, providing a setting for its total undergraduate enrollment of 1,808 students as of fall 2024. The student-faculty ratio at Franklin & Marshall College is 9:1, which allows for personalized attention and mentorship opportunities. The college operates on a semester-based academic calendar.

Admissions and Financial Aid

Franklin & Marshall College accepts the Common Application and has a test-optional admissions policy. The school's tuition and fees are $73,210. A significant portion of the student body receives financial assistance; 58% of first-year students receive need-based financial aid, with the average net price for federal loan recipients being $33,802.

Academic Programs and Opportunities

Franklin & Marshall confers Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degrees in 58 undergraduate fields. The college's approach in liberal arts expands over a myriad of fields, such as natural sciences, arts, and humanities. Besides the traditional academic disciplines, the college offers a variety of options to students to enrich their learning experiences, such as interdisciplinary majors, joint and special studies majors, and certificates. F&M also provides interdepartmental programs between chemistry, biology, psychology, and philosophy departments.

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F&M students with a major in Business, Organizations and Society (BOS), or a relevant coursework can apply to earn a Master of Human Resource Management (MHRM) from Rutgers University. Recent graduates who are interested in long-term teaching in Philadelphia area can apply to the Franklin Fellowship, a partnership between Franklin & Marshall and the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. The college operates an advanced studies program in Bath, England.

Graduation Rates and Graduate Outcomes

The four-year graduation rate at Franklin & Marshall is 76%. Six years after graduation, the median salary for graduates is $62,544.

A Look into the History

Franklin & Marshall College has a rich and complex history, stemming from the merger of two institutions: Franklin College and Marshall College.

Early Beginnings: Franklin College

Franklin College was founded in 1787, named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, a key figure of the time. The first class consisted of 78 men and 36 women; Franklin was the first college in the United States to accept female students. Among its first students was Richea Gratz, the first Jewish female college student in the United States. But soon after, female students were not allowed to matriculate.

In July 1789, Franklin College went into debt and enrollment dwindled. In an effort to help the ailing school, an academy was established in 1807.

The Emergence of Marshall College

Having grown from a Reformed Church academy, Marshall College opened in 1836 in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. The school was named for the fourth Chief Justice of the United States John Marshall, who had died the previous year. Upon opening, Marshall College had five students, which expanded to ten in the first year. After significant difficulty in finding a proper academic to lead the nascent college, Frederick Augustus Rauch was installed as Marshall College's first president. The school's small faculty grew in both size and status with the addition of John Williamson Nevin and another German scholar, church historian Philip Schaff. Frederick Augustus Rauch died suddenly in 1841, five years after becoming the college's founding president.

In July 1837, a riot erupted in Mercersburg over abolitionism and slavery. He spent the night at a boarding house run by the family of a Marshall College student, Daniel Kroh and on his way to church the next morning was attacked by a mob largely composed of Southern students. After being rescued by another Marshall student and a local war veteran, he returned to Kroh's house and delivered his speech to a private audience. The next morning, he escaped in a closed carriage as the Southern students threw stones and cursed at him.

Marshall College gained national recognition and attracted students from a large geographical area, with some coming as far away as the West Indies. However, despite being initially well-funded, Marshall College began to experience financial difficulties of its own. In 1835, the school's debating society was renamed Diagnothian Literary Society. A further debate society was named Goethean, in honor of German philosopher and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The two organizations merged in 1955, but became separate entities again in 1989.

The Merger: Franklin & Marshall College

On December 6, 1849, Franklin College and Marshall College began to consider merging as a way to secure the future of both institutions. Three years later, on June 7, 1853, the combined college was formally dedicated at Lancaster's Fulton Hall. The merger created an all-male Reformed Church institution that combined the resources of both schools. The college's first two presidents, Emanuel Vogel Gerhart, a Marshall College graduate, and Nevin struggled to keep the young school afloat with an inadequate endowment. The hope of creating a reputable liberal arts institution fueled their efforts to push on. "No second- or third-rate school will do," said Nevin at the formal dedication of the united college.

The citizens of Lancaster agreed to donate $25,000 towards the construction of a building for the merged college. A site on the east end of the city was proposed near where the new Lancaster County Prison was constructed in 1851. Two parallel streets in the area were renamed, one for Franklin and one for Marshall. However, Buchanan ultimately rejected the proposal, saying "I do not think the best location for a literary institution should be between a court house and a jail." Instead, Buchanan and the board selected a site at the northwestern end of Lancaster. Known locally as "Gallows Hill," it was the former site of Lancaster's public executions and the highest point of ground in city. At the laying of the building's cornerstone in 1853, Henry Harbaugh, a Marshall College graduate and pastor of the Reformed Church of Lancaster noted that the city's lowest point was the prison. Harbaugh stated: "Thank God! The College stands higher than the jail."

Lux et Lex: The College Motto and Seal

Franklin and Marshall College took as its motto the Latin phrase Lux et Lex, which translates in English to "Light and Law". This reversed the Marshall College motto Lex et Lux. The college seal depicts profiles of Franklin and Marshall looking to the left. It has been suggested that this represents the two leaders looking westward to the future expansion of the United States. Despite his nominal secondary priority, John Marshall is on the left of the seal and Benjamin Franklin is on the right. But Franklin's entire head is shown, while Marshall's profile is cut off and far in the background. Speculation has suggested that this demonstrates an unspoken tendency to favor Franklin's legacy over Marshall's. This preference became explicit when the school celebrated Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday but ignored John Marshall's 250th birthday during consecutive semesters of the 2005â2006 academic year.

Growth and Evolution

In 1872, Franklin & Marshall Academy, an all-male preparatory school, opened on campus. College Days, the first student newspaper, began publication in 1873. In 1887, the centennial celebration of Franklin College was held. 1899 saw the formation of the college's first theatre group, the Franklin & Marshall Dramatic Association. The next year, it was renamed the Green Room Club. The club performed plays at Lancaster's Fulton Opera House. Because the college admitted only men, the female roles were played by local actresses. Franklin & Marshall alumni who have performed on the Green Room stage include Oscar-winning film director Franklin J.

The college grew rapidly after the end of World War I. Enrollment rose from around 300 students in 1920, to over 750 by 1930. In 1924, the architectural firm of Klauder and Day presented a master campus plan in the Colonial Revival style. Dietz-Santee dormitory, Meyran-Franklin dormitory, the Mayser Physical Education Center, and Hensel Hall were all completed within three years. The sesquicentennial celebration of Franklin College was held in October 1937. Student enrollment by then was 800. In 1939, the school began an aviation program in the new Keiper Liberal Arts Building. The Aeronautical Laboratory eventually became a government-sponsored flight school with 40 faculty members. By 1945, with most young men in the armed services, the college population dwindled to just under 500 students and 28 faculty members. The end of the war brought an influx of students pursuing degrees under the G.I. Bill. By 1946, enrollment had swelled to over 1,200 students (including four women in the pre-med program), causing a sudden critical shortage of faculty.

Like other academic institutions in the 1960s, Franklin and Marshall endured student protests during the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. Martin Luther King Jr. visited the campus on December 12, 1963, three weeks after the assassination of John F. In 1965 Robert Mezey, a 30-year-old visiting English instructor and poet, spoke on campus against the Vietnam War, and traveled to Washington, DC to march against the conflict. When he was accused of urging students to burn their draft cards, he was suspended with pay for a month while the college investigated. The incident generated controversy in the local press, with some residents ordering him to "get the hell out of Lancaster" and "go to Russia." Though Mezey was reinstated, he left the college the following spring.

In the spring of 1969, black students protested the final examination of the history course "The Black Experience in America." Demanding an apology from the faculty for exploitation and an "A" in the course, the students argued that no white man can test them on their "blackness." The day before the exam, the professors agreed to the apology, but insisted that the students take the final exam. On May 22, the day of the exam, 40 black studentsâmany of whom were not enrolled in the courseâblocked the entrance to the exam room in Old Main. The professors attempted to hand out the exam, but the protesters confiscated them. Retreating to Goethean Hall next door, the professors and staff met to evaluate the situation. The protesters followed them to the building, blocked all doors and exits and held them hostage, declaring that they would not release the faculty members until they received an apology and immunity from punishment. The standoff lasted until midnight, when the professors agreed to allow the students to grade themselves. The students relented and released the hostages.

Transition to a Secular and Coeducational Institution

In 1969, Franklin and Marshall College ended its formal affiliation with the United Church of Christ, becoming a secular school. Franklin College had enrolled female students during its first few years in the eighteenth century, to its academy for teenagers. Franklin and Marshall College was an all-male institution. Women were permitted to attend summer school classes at F&M beginning in 1942. Continuing a trend at gender exclusive schools across the country, the Board of Trustees announced on January 17, 1969, that it had voted to admit women to F&M, a decision that was supported by male students.

Developments in the Late 20th Century

In 1970, F&M students protested the administration's failure to rehire popular sociology instructor Anthony Lazroe and history instructor Henry Mayer. On September 17, 1970, the Herman Art Center (named after Jacob Leon Herman, Class of 1916) was dedicated as part of Convocation, during which painter Jim Dine and sculptor Chaim Gross were awarded honorary degrees. In 1976, the Steinman College Center was constructed. The buildingâdesigned by Minoru Yamasaki, architect of New York's World Trade Centerâoriginally housed the campus bookstore. On April 29, 1976, the Green Room Theatre staged the world premiere of the John Updike play Buchanan Dying, about former President James Buchanan, a Lancaster resident and former president of the board of trustees. The production was directed by Edward S. Brubaker and starred Peter Vogt, an F&M alumnus.

The college prospered during the 1980s. Construction projects initiated during the decade included Hartman Green (1982), French House (1984), Murray Arts House (1984), Ice Rink (1984), Spaulding Plaza (1985), and the Other Room Theatre (1985). Major renovations and expansions included Fackenthal Library (1983, renamed Shadek-Fackenthal Library, currently over 510,000 volumes), Stahr Hall (1985, renamed Stager Hall, 1988), the Black Cultural Center (1986), and Weis Residence Hall (1989). The 1990s brought a major expansion to the north side of campus with the construction of College Square in 1991. The multi-use complex houses a bookstore, laundromat, video store, restaurants and a food court.

The 21st Century and Beyond

At the start of the 21st century, the college continued to grow with the addition of several new buildings. On January 19, 2006, the college celebrated the tricentennial of Benjamin Franklin's birth. On March 10, 2010, it was announced that then current president John Fry would be leaving the college to become the president of Drexel University on August 1, 2010. On November 16, 2010, Daniel R. Porterfield was announced as the new president, effective March 1, 2011. Porterfield came to F&M from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he served as a senior vice president.

Since 2011 hundreds of talented, underserved high school students from across the country have taken part in F&M College Prep, a summer immersion program that offers an introduction to college life. Each of these participants have gone on to college, and more than 90% have gone on to enroll at four-year colleges, including Harvard, Brown, Stanford, Georgetown, and Bucknell universities, the University of Texas-Austin, Pomona College, Trinity College, Spelman College, and Franklin & Marshall. The Office of Student and Post-Graduate Development offering life skills workshops, job-search boot camps for seniors and recent grads, on-campus recruiting and alumni programming, opened in 2012 and enjoys wide support from students and alumni.

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Campus Life and Traditions

Franklin & Marshall is situated in Lancaster, a historic city with deep Pennsylvania Dutch and German-American roots. Located in the northwest corner of the city, the college's campus primarily spans Lancaster City and parts of Manheim Township. The overall architectural design of F&M can be traced through a blend of Gothic Revival, Federal Revival, and modernist influences, reflecting the evolution of the institution over nearly two centuries. The College Reporter (TCR) is a weekly, student-run news publication at Franklin & Marshall College.

Greek Life

Since the merger in 1853, Greek life on F&M's campus have become an integral part of the college's history, leadership, and philanthropy. In April 1988, the college's board of trustees voted to no longer officially recognize the school's fraternities and sororities. At the time, three of the school's fraternities had recently lost their national charters due to various offenses. In an effort to repair the system, the college administration proposed eight specific reforms to the Greek Council, which were ultimately rejected by all of the organizations. The loss of recognition was unpopular with some students. The Greek system continued, albeit without financial or administrative support from the college.

Athletics

The college's sports teams are called the Diplomats. Many of the teams compete in the Centennial Conference. Men's intercollegiate competition is in fourteen sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soc…

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