Points of Distinction

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Molded by a commitment to “Educate for Service,” Elizabethtown College is a community of learners dedicated to educating students intellectually, socially, aesthetically, and ethically for lives of service and leadership as citizens of the world.

As a comprehensive institution, the College offers academic programs in the liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies. Combining classroom instruction with experiential learning, these programs advance independent thought, personal integrity, and social responsibility as the foundations for a life of learning.

Founded by members of the Church of the Brethren, the College believes that learning is most noble when used to benefit others and affirms the values of peace, non-violence, human dignity, and social justice.

Elizabethtown College blends a high standard of scholarship with a commitment to:

prepare students for purposeful lives and meaningful work,
foster in students an international and cross-cultural perspective,
complement classroom instruction with experiential learning opportunities, and
educate students in a relationship-centered learning community.

Students are prepared for lives of purpose.

To enable them to respond to today’s dynamic work environments, Elizabethtown students are prepared not only with foundational skills for employment after graduation, but also for life-work changes that evolve.
As we proclaim in our statement of mission and identity, we believe that learning is most noble when used to benefit others. Thus, we educate based on a holistic model of student development that integrates career development; reflection of vocation, meaning and life; and a commitment to civic engagement.
As a result, our graduates are prepared for dynamic, purposeful, fulfilling life’s work as private citizens, public servants and leaders, and successful professionals.

Students are taught to be global citizens.

Students today must be familiar with and understand the interconnected ways of life in the 21st century. When students enroll at Elizabethtown, they encounter this international world in a variety of ways. Our staff includes faculty members and others who are citizens of countries from around the world, who speak a multitude of languages, and who have had a variety of study and residential experiences on other continents. Students also encounter this international world when they study alongside students from other countries and when they visit, study in or live in cities as diverse as Harrisburg, Philadelphia, London, Beijing and Sydney.

Students develop through experiential learning.

Learning through active participation – and your own personal experiences – is a vital component of an Elizabethtown College education. As a result, our students develop the ability to link theory and experience, and they are better prepared to continue learning throughout their lifetime.

Students enjoy a relationship-centered education.

Elizabethtown College is a place of people – individuals who live and learn in relationship to each other. At the College, students receive personal attention from all campus community members, who are genuinely interested in their educational success. Our faculty put student learning above research and take pride in the one-on-one, mentoring relationships they form with students. Ninety percent of full-time faculty serve as academic advisors and mentors.