Wheaton College: A Legacy of Liberal Arts Education in Massachusetts

Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college located in Norton, Massachusetts. Consistently ranked among the nation’s best for classroom experience and generous financial aid, Wheaton provides a highly personalized education. With more than 100 academic programs and funding opportunities to support experiential learning, the college's flexible Compass Curriculum encourages students to find a path that fits their interests, with close mentorship to help guide that passion to achieve life and career success. Built around a deep sense of belonging, Wheaton is a place where students are challenged, championed, supported, and seen.

A Storied History

Wheaton College's history is rich and dates back to 1834 when it was founded as a female seminary. Eliza Wheaton Strong, the daughter of Laban Wheaton, passed away at the age of thirty-nine. The family sought the help of Mary Lyon, a noted women's educator, to establish the seminary. Lyon developed the first curriculum with the goal that it be equal in quality to those of men's colleges and also provided the first principal, Eunice Caldwell. Lyon and Caldwell later left Wheaton to open Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1837 (now Mount Holyoke College).

After their departure, Wheaton endured a period of fluctuating enrollment and frequent changes in leadership until 1850 when Caroline Cutler Metcalf was recruited as the new principal. Metcalf made the hiring of outstanding faculty her top priority, bringing in educators who encouraged students to discuss ideas rather than to memorize facts. Metcalf retired in 1876. A. Ellen Stanton, a teacher of French since 1871, served as principal from 1880 to 1897.

In 1897, at the suggestion of Eliza Baylies Wheaton, the trustees hired Samuel Valentine Cole as the seminary's first male president. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts granted Wheaton a college charter in 1912, and the trustees changed the name of the school to Wheaton College. The Student Government Association was organized to represent the "consensus of opinion of the whole student body" and to encourage individual responsibility, integrity, and self-government. Cole died unexpectedly in 1925 after a brief illness. During his career as president, Cole oversaw the expansion of the campus from three to 27 buildings, the growth of enrollment from 50 to 414, and the establishment of an endowment.

John Edgar Park, who became president in 1926, continued Cole's building program and saw the college through the Great Depression, the celebration of its centennial in 1935, and World War II. He retired in 1944 and was succeeded by Dartmouth College Professor of History Alexander Howard Meneely. Meneely died in 1961 after a long illness and was succeeded in 1962 by William C.H. Prentice, a psychology professor and administrator at Swarthmore College. In the early 1960s, Wheaton successfully completed its first endowment campaign. The development of the new campus continued, and student enrollment grew to 1,200.

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In 1975, Wheaton inaugurated its first female president, Alice Frey Emerson, dean of students at the University of Pennsylvania. Emerson would go on to receive the Valeria Knapp Award from The College Club of Boston in 1987 for establishing the Global Awareness Program at Wheaton College. Wheaton celebrated its Sesquicentennial in 1984/85 with a year-long series of symposia, concerts, dance performances, art and history exhibits, and an endowment and capital campaign. In 1987, the trustees voted to admit men to Wheaton. Dale Rogers Marshall, Academic Dean at Wellesley College, was inaugurated as Wheaton's sixth president in 1992. She led the college in "The Campaign for Wheaton" to build endowed and current funds for faculty development, student scholarships, and academic programs and facilities.

Wheaton's Board of Trustees appointed Ronald A. Crutcher as the seventh president of the college on March 23, 2004. Dennis M. Hanno was appointed the eighth president in 2014 and served until 2021.

Academics and Curriculum

Wheaton offers a liberal arts education leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree in more than 100 majors and minors. Students are permitted to work with faculty members to design self-declared majors. Foundations courses focus on writing, quantitative analysis, foreign language study, and non-Western perspectives. In their first semester at Wheaton, all freshmen take a First Year Seminar in which they explore contemporary issues and gain academic skills needed for college-level study.

The course selection is extended further through the college's cross-registration programs with Brown University and nine local colleges involved in SACHEM (Southeastern Association for Cooperation in Higher Education in Massachusetts). Students must take either three linked courses or two sets of two-course connections. These courses are intended to encourage students to explore and think beyond their primary academic interests. For instance, the connection entitled "Communication through Art and Mathematics" links Arts 298 (Graphic Design I) with Math 127 (Advertising Math). Much of this emphasis was initiated by college president Dennis M.

Wheaton's full-time student-faculty ratio is approximately 11 to 1, and the average class size is 15-20 students. With minimal requirements, the Compass Curriculum gives students the flexibility to create their own path to success, with personalized advising and professional mentorship. The curriculum encourages students to connect academics to career interests and builds on Wheaton's core principles of intellectual curiosity, global citizenship, experiential learning, social justice, diversity and inclusion, and collaborative community. Taught by faculty teams, the required First-Year Experience course combines the deep discussions, reading, and writing of a traditional first-year seminar with cross-discipline discovery, encouraging students to consider complex problems and questions through multiple lenses, right from the start.

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Psychology, business and management, film and new media studies, biology, and English are Wheaton's most popular majors. Programs in the arts and hard sciences are also very popular. The Center for Global Education offers more than 100 approved study abroad programs in more than 45 different nations around the world; 45 percent of students participate. Wheaton's academic program is coupled with The Wheaton Edge, a four-year immersive personal and professional development experience designed to lead to graduates' success. Launched in 2015, the Wheaton Edge guarantees that all students will have a funded internship, research, or leadership opportunity. Connecting the deep alumni network with the dynamic students and committed faculty, the program has proved to be very popular. The college invests over $1.2 million per year to support internships, much of which is funded by donors.

Graduate Programs

Wheaton College Graduate School offers a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree. The M.A. in History of Christianity is currently a residential program with some courses available online. Applicants are required to provide official transcripts from each institution where they have received or will receive a degree prior to enrollment in Wheaton College Graduate School. Applicants who have earned more than 25% of their degree from institutions outside of their degree conferring school will be required to supply official transcripts for those credits in the event they are not explicitly listed on their original transcript with course names and grades. E-transcripts are preferred. The application process also includes three recommendations (academic, pastoral, and professional), a resumé, and an application fee.

Campus Life and Student Activities

Wheaton believes that a transformative education begins with community, where students from diverse backgrounds live, learn, and lead together. The college enrolls more than 1,700 students from 42 states and 39 countries, with approximately 97% living on campus. About 7% of students are international, 23% are first-generation, and 25% self-identify as students of color, including Asian, Black, and Latinx students. With 100 active clubs and organizations and 33 residential structures, every student can find their place and thrive. The college’s 16 theme houses enrich both their residents and the broader community by hosting educational and social events. There's also a rich history of "Theme Houses," bringing together a number of students with shared interests or purpose. In the 2017-2018 year, there were 17 theme houses on campus.

New student orientation is offered to all first-year and transfer students and their families to make the transition to college life as seamless as possible. The Office of Student Activities, Involvement and Leadership (SAIL) serves in an advisory role to student groups, providing students with resources for event planning, leadership development, and student club information. Currently, Wheaton has more than 100 student organizations and more than a dozen club sports. Students can get involved with cultural and religious clubs, student government, community service, and social justice to name a few, or they can also start their own club. Students unwind at the Balfour-Hood Center, which offers a café, dance studio, and sun deck for afternoon study breaks. Spring Weekend features the Head of the Peacock race, where students build vessels (no boats allowed) and race them across the pond, as well as live bands and outdoor barbecues.

Much of the grounds at Wheaton College are open space and are used for outdoor events, both social and academic activities, and now include a designated outdoor classroom space. Local recreation facilities include the Xfinity Center, Patriot Place shopping center, and the world-famous TPC Golf Course.

Athletics

More than 25% of students compete in the college’s 26 NCAA Division III varsity athletics programs. Wheaton is one of only a few New England colleges with five varsity aquatics teams, anchored by the country’s longest-running artistic swim program. Wheaton is a NCAA Division III school and participated in the formation of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) in 1998. Coast Guard Academy, Wellesley College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. There are also six associate members that include Simmons College, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Catholic University, Maine Maritime Academy, Merchant Marine Academy, and Norwich University. Wheaton is also a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Wheaton women and men play competitively on 13 and 11 varsity teams, respectively. Wheaton offers a wide and growing variety of coeducational intramural sports, including basketball, water polo, flag football, floor hockey, softball, soccer, and table tennis, among others.

Campus and Facilities

Wheaton’s 400-acre park-like campus is located halfway between the cities of Boston and Providence, with easy access to public transportation. The campus blends historical buildings with modern structures and is set among beautiful lawns and shaded trees. The upper and lower parts of the campus are separated by Peacock Pond in the middle. Wheaton guarantees residence hall housing to all students for four years, with 96 percent of students living on campus. The college has 18 residence halls, plus a new 175-bed, energy-efficient residence for first-year students that opened in August 2019. In addition there are 16 student-run theme houses on campus. Students can choose from traditional residence halls, single-sex housing, wellness housing, a 24-hour quiet hall, or a variety of theme houses. In these special interest houses, students can explore themes that connect with their academic pursuits or their future aspirations, from science and music to gender equality and environmental activism.

The newly renovated Diana Davis Spencer Discovery Center serves as the home for the business and management and psychology departments, the social entrepreneurship programs, and the Fab Lab makerspace as well as the Life and Career Design Institute. The center also features Wheaton's Nursing program, including state-of-the-art classrooms, skills labs, a clinical simulation center, and other essential resources for education and training. In 2016, Wheaton renovated its dining halls, including Emerson Dining Hall, the Hood Cafe, and the Davis Spencer Cafe. They also rebuilt Chase Dining Hall. The most recent development came in August 2019 with the addition of Pine Hall. With an increasing volume in the number of freshmen accepted every year, it was decided that a new residence hall needed to be built. Pine Hall is a designated wellness community and is named after Pine Street, which is the street the residence hall sits on. It can house 178 students in both single- and double-style rooms. It is the first college residence in the state of Massachusetts to meet Passive House standards and was designed to use 70% less energy than buildings built to current building codes. It is one of the only residence halls on the campus built with air conditioning.

Austin House, designed by The Architects Collaborative, sits at the edge of campus and serves as housing for guest speakers, artists, etc. In 1938, Wheaton sponsored a competition to build a new arts center, cosponsored by Museum of Modern Art and Architectural Forum. They fielded proposals from some of the most famous architects of that era, including Louis Kahn and Walter Gropius, the latter of which took second prize.

Community Engagement

The town of Norton provides students with myriad service opportunities. Students and faculty collaborate with a wide variety of local organizations-from public and private schools to businesses and human service organizations-providing volunteer energy to residents while advancing the college's learning and research goals. The college is proud to partner with schools and municipal agencies as well as a number of local organizations, including the Attleboro Council of Churches, Crystal Springs Farm, Foxboro Hugs, Homes with Heart, Norton Head Start, the Norton Land Preservation Society, Rhode Island Food Banks, and the Salvation Army. Wheaton students also play in the Great Woods Symphony Orchestra, a full-sized concert ensemble that plays a wide range of classic and contemporary music at one of the region's most popular concert venues, which is conveniently located in the neighboring town.

The Wheaton Edge: Preparing Students for Success

Wheaton's academic program is coupled with The Wheaton Edge, a four-year immersive personal and professional development experience designed to lead to graduates' success. Launched in 2015, the Wheaton Edge guarantees that all students will have a funded internship, research, or leadership opportunity. Connecting the deep alumni network with the dynamic students and committed faculty, the program has proved to be very popular. The college invests over $1.2 million per year to support internships, much of which is funded by donors. Wheaton provides funding opportunities for internships, research, and volunteer work, ensuring every student has access to real-world learning.

Wheaton’s Life and Career Design Institute helps students connect their personal and academic interests to life goals and career possibilities. With coaching from Career Navigators, students learn how to tell their unique stories, network with alumni and external organizations, and take action. As this undergrad boasts, “The greatest strength of our school is the career services department which has a high placement rate for both internships and full time positions.” In fact, “about 99 percent of students complete an internship during their time at Wheaton.” This is due to the Wheaton Edge program, which guarantees funding for an internship, research position, or other experiential learning opportunity for every student. Wheaton invests more than $1.2 million each year into this program. Importantly, the office works closely with undergrads to create a customized career development plan. Students can take advantage of one-on-one advising and receive fantastic guidance on resume writing.

Within six months of graduation, 92% of Wheaton alumni are employed or pursuing graduate school, internships, or fellowships. Since 2000, Wheaton students have won more than 260 prestigious awards including Fulbrights, Watsons, and Rhodes.

Financial Aid and Affordability

Through a comprehensive financial aid program, Wheaton has maintained its commitment to helping students attain their educational goals. Eligibility for all aid from the college is based on a combination of financial need and academic performance. Wheaton does not offer aid based solely on athletic ability. The majority of Wheaton students receive some form of financial assistance; awards can range from $5,500 to $65,000. Financial aid is in the form of a "package" that includes need-based grants, merit scholarships, loans, and work opportunities. Wheaton administers more than $100 million in student financial aid annually, including more than $74 million in funding from the college directly. Generous scholarships worth up to $45,000 (renewable annually) recognize students for high academic achievement, regardless of financial need. Scholarships include a stipend to help support internships.

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