GO AHEAD

Take a peak

At Messiah College

From the banks of the Yellow Breeches Creek, meandering through our 471-acre campus, to the four corners of the world, Messiah College students use their gifts, intellect, and inspiration to create a difference.

Messiah College is committed to embracing an evangelical spirit rooted in the Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan traditions of the Christian Church (www.messiah.edu).

Our students have many opportunities to grow in and express their faith:

   •Chapel

   •Small group Bible studies

   •Discipleship, prayer groups

   •Outreach

   •Community service

   •Mission trips

It starts with a relationship…

… with faculty. Messiah’s low student-faculty ratio allows for greater collaboration between professors and students. And by the way, professors—not teaching assistants—instruct classes at Messiah College. While our faculty members are serious scholars who pursue original research and publish widely, they are also practicing Christians who make students their first priority.

    •13:1 student-faculty ratio

    •172 full-time faculty members, representing five countries, from more than 150 prestigious graduate schools

    •78 percent hold terminal degrees

    •Each faculty member signs a statement of faith as an indication of his or her commitment to the mission of Messiah College.

…with one another. Messiah College is committed to providing a hospitable community characterized by humility, respect, and concern for others. While engaging our differences and commonalities, College community members model conviction and compassion as we seek to listen, learn, and build bridges of understanding and healing. The Messiah community intentionally reflects the diversity that is characteristic of our nation, the Church, and the world by embracing the presence and perspectives of students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds and different Christian faith traditions.

Students at Messiah College choose from an abundance of opportunities to forge new friendships and connect with the community:

  •Culture: Music, arts, dining, entertainment, and professional sports venues abound in nearby Harrisburg, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City.

  •Larsen Student Union: Widescreen TV, wireless Internet, pool tables, café, and a fireplace.

  •Campus-Wide Activities: 60+ clubs/organizations, chapel services, concerts, movies, 22 NCAA Division III athletic teams, intramurals, special events, ministry, etc.

  •Yellow Breeches Creek: Perfect for tubing, canoeing, reading, or hanging out with friends

…with the community. Messiah College’s Agapé Center for Service and Learning (messiah.edu/agape) coordinates programs of service-learning, community service, and missions. Each year, hundreds of students, faculty members, and administrators partner with local, national, and international organizations to address community needs, provide holistic learning opportunities for students, and encourage students toward an ethic of discipleship, service, and civic engagement.

     •Last year, Messiah students volunteered more than 60,000 hours of community work through one or more of our 60 clubs, organizations, and service-learning opportunities.

… with the world. Messiah College was recently ranked ninth in the nation among baccalaureate schools sending students to study abroad, (messiah.edu/epicenter) according to “Open Doors,” Chronicle of Higher Education, 2007.

Last year 429 students participated in 30 different study abroad, service-learning, and cross-cultural programs in 40 countries, including Australia, Russia, Ecuador, England, France, Greece, Germany, Japan, Spain, and Uganda.

Our Internship Center (messiah.edu/internship) is nationally recognized for excellence in training students for today’s workforce. Over 350 colleges and universities use Messiah’s training materials or model their internship program after Messiah’s.

Each year over 400 eager employers and some of the nation’s best graduate schools welcome new Messiah graduates into their organizations. In fact, 98 percent of Messiah’s past-year graduates surveyed are employed full-time, attending graduate school, or engaged in voluntary service within six months after graduation (messiah.edu/career).

And a commitment to…

…academic excellence.

   •Messiah College consistently ranks among the top five baccalaureate institutions in the northeastern United States, according to U.S. News and World Report.

   •Within the past 10 years, Messiah College has produced graduates who have distinguished themselves as Rhodes, Fulbright, Carnegie, and Truman Scholars.

   •Messiah’s accounting program (messiah.edu/accounting) is ranked seventh in the nation — ahead of even the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania — for percentage of students who passed the CPA exam on their first attempt.

   •One-hundred percent of Messiah’s elementary, early childhood, and special education (messiah.edu/education) graduates in 2007 passed the Praxis Series assessments, an exam required for obtaining teacher certification in Pennsylvania and many other states.

   •Messiah is one of only three institutions in Pennsylvania whose nursing class scored a 100 percent pass rate on the 2006 National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (messiah.edu//health_nat_sci).

…individuality. Last year 84 percent of Messiah College students participated in one or more specialized learning programs including off-campus study, custom designed majors, independent studies, internships, and a flourishing College Honors Program.

…athletic achievement. The Messiah College Falcons (messiah.edu/athletics) are five-time NCAA Division III national champions in men’s soccer (2006, 2005, 2004, 2002, and 2000); 2005 national champion and 2007 national runner-up in women’s soccer; 2008 and 2001 national runner-up in women’s basketball; and four-time national runner-up in field hockey (2006, 2005, 2002, and 2001).

Excellence within the context of Messiah’s mission affects every aspect of the athletic program, beginning with recruitment. We look for coaches who not only know their sports well, but also have callings as Christian role models and teachers. We want our student-athletes to grow as whole people—academically, athletically, and—most importantly—as committed Christians who understand how their faith affects everything they do.

…fiscal responsibility. Keeping a Messiah education affordable continues to be a high priority for the College. Costs of tuition, as well as room and board, remain competitive with average costs at comparable four-year, private colleges in Pennsylvania. Tuition and fees for 2008-2009 total $24,900, and room and board averages $7,610. Additional fees total $770.

In addition to federal and state loans, as well as on-campus employment programs, Messiah students benefit from approximately $20 million in institutional merit scholarships and need-based aid. Ninety-seven percent of all students receive some form of institutional financial aid with the average annual award per recipient (from all sources of aid) being approximately $18,411.

…state-of-the-art facilities. Eighteen of Messiah’s 23 buildings have been constructed in the past 15 years (messiah.edu/visitors/map), including a new science center; a renovated and expanded nursing hall; a hall of engineering, mathematics, and business; and a 129-seat state-of-the-art cinema. Two new facilities, a 95,000-square-foot academic building and a 35,000-square-foot student union, opened in fall 2003.

Climenhaga Fine Arts Center contains a large, 370-seat lecture hall/theatre, a recital hall and instrumental room, music practice rooms, art studios and gallery, and theatre workspace.

The Sollenberger Sports Center, a 90,000-square-foot complex, houses four racquetball courts, a large arena with four basketball courts, an indoor track and fitness center, a natatorium including an eight-lane swimming pool with a separate diving well, and wrestling and gymnastics areas.

FAST FACTS

Campus

The Grantham campus—a scenic 471-acre suburban site—is home to more than 2,800 students who thrive in a small-town atmosphere yet savor the cultural influences of nearby urban centers such as Harrisburg (12 miles), Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C.—all within short driving distance of the College.

The Philadelphia Campus at Temple University (a comprehensive public research university with 34,000 students) situates Messiah College within a rich, historically significant city and major urban center, complete with ethnic, cultural, and academic diversity. This unparalleled partnership between Messiah College and Temple University, forged in 1968, is the first of its kind between a Christian college and a major state-affiliated university. 

Making it affordable

About 97 percent of Messiah students receive financial aid, with the average annual award per recipient (from all sources of aid) being nearly $19,500.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to educate men and women toward maturity of intellect, character, and Christian faith in preparation for lives of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society.

Intellect • Character • Christian Faith

Messiah College