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Where is Earlham?
Located in Richmond, IN, Earlham College is close to several major cities and just 4 hours from Chicago. Our students come from all over the US and the world!
6:1
student to faculty ratio
student athletes
international students
clubs and organizations
Learning
At Earlham, we pride ourselves on the close relationships our students are able to build with our professors. It’s hard to describe, so we thought it would be easier to show you.
Some of the learning you will do at Earlham may feel familiar: learning from a professor in a classroom, taking notes, studying for tests. But some of the learning you will do will be brand new: building robots, working on farms, or traveling overseas to (something interesting).
@earlhamcollege last semester the responsive objects class collaborated to make this massive inflatable art installation. the interactive piece represents the barriers society faced connecting during Covid. #art #artinstillation #inflatableart #collegeclass #covid #interactiveart #artdepartment ♬ original sound – Earlham College
@earlhamcollege geology class rocks… and licks apparently. #geology #fossil #fossiltok #rocktok #earthscience #trilobite ♬ original sound – Earlham College
@earlhamcollege the majesty of #metalwork #metalart #college ♬ Forever – Labrinth
Glossary of college terms
College is a world with many new words that you need to know. Below is Earlham’s list of terms to help you along the way.
Syllabus
Usually shared during the first class, this document gives an overview for each class and the expectations in order to do well.
FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a form you complete to see your eligibility for financial aid every year.
Work Study
A form of financial aid that allows students to work on campus.
Internship
A career-discerning opportunity that is related to the field in which you are currently studying.
Prerequisite
The class or classes required before taking an upper level class.
Search Earlham’s academic programs
Earlham’s top five academic programs are business, engineering, psychology, biology and pre-health. Design your path with the Epic Journey, an individualized 4-year plan. Explore any course of study with our 00 majors, 00 pre-professional programs and 3 graduate programs.
Community
Earlham’s community is unique, supportive and vibrant. We create and maintain traditions, celebrate each others’ successes, try new things and hold each other accountable to our shared values. At Earlham, community means being our whole selves—together. We would love to show you around!
grocery stores neighboring campus
minute drive to nature centers
minutes to 3 international airports
minutes to dozens of local restaurants
Weird Earlham
our quirks, perks and talents
Ancient dating ritual: Near the front of campus is a stone post, a gift from the Class of 1924, inscribed with a poem asking for the reader to make a wish and then kick the post to make it come true. When a couple would take a walk on campus together and come to the post, if one of them kicked it, the other would take it as a hint that they should go on a date.
Accidental protest: In 1949 a stuffed cat was lowered on to an auditorium stage while a guest speaker was debating a serious point about pacifism and defense preparation. But what looked like a protest against the speaker, however, was actually a misfired prank. The pranksters had set up a timer to lower the cat, intending for it to scare fellow students scheduled to use the stage. But schedules changed. Four Earlhamites confessed and requested suspensions for themselves.
Action step: There’s more! Are you ready to hear the story about a race on campus that is both adorable and, well, kinda gross? Hold onto your hindlegs for this one, people.
Snowballs for peace: In the winter of 1975, Earlham’s president and provost settled a rift that had developed between two “warring” residential houses with a snowball duel. No one knows who won, but the beef was settled and everyone walked away feeling sufficiently silly.
Grand detour: U.S. Highway 40, also known as the National Road, runs in front of campus. In 1951 several students gathered up detour road signs and rerouted eastbound traffic so that it looped through campus. Everything was going according to plan until a semi-truck was unable to make a turn, backing up traffic for miles.
Raided by the Feds: Earlham’s radio station still broadcasts over the airwaves to this day, but there was a time when its predecessor used the College’s steam tunnels to run wires between dorms and low-power radio to broadcast to the rest of campus. Except the young Earlhamites running the station had amped things up a bit too much to boost their signal—enough to cause interference with other radio stations. This led to public complaints and the FCC was called in to investigate. Two vans with antennas sniffed out Earlham’s rogue station and put the kybosh on further broadcasting, confiscating some equipment.
Secession at Earlham: In the fall of 1975, residents from the oldest dorm on campus, Bundy Hall, announced that Bundy was declaring its sovereignty and separating not only from Earlham, but from the U.S. government as well. They made their declaration by writing to the local newspaper and mayor’s office. To his credit, the good-humored mayor dressed up in a colonial costume and visited the dorm to reason with the residents, but wasn’t able to talk them out of it. They gave him a passport, stamped it and sent the mayor on his way. The Bundy revolutionaries celebrated by announcing they were now a monarchy and had named a king and queen. Alas, it their reign was not long. Days later secessionists were brought back into the campus fold after water-balloon salvos from other dorms and convincing from fellow Bundy residents.
Beyond Earlham
In addition to our on-campus communities, there is plenty to see and do (and eat!) just outside of campus as well. If you aren’t able to come visit us yet, below are a few places to connect with to begin learning more about Richmond and other nearby communities.
More to explore
From Earlham’s campus, there are several cities to explore within a two-hour drive, including Indianapolis and Fort Wayne in Indiana, and Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus in Ohio. If you’re willing to venture out a bit further, cities like Chicago, Louisville, and St. Louis are within a 3-5 hour drive.
Where might you go after Earlham?
Everyone knows you go to college to earn a degree–and at Earlham, you will earn a degree from a well-respected institution with a network of alumni that spans the globe. But you will also leave with a new understanding of who you are and how you will apply all of the skills, knowledge and experience that degree represents in the real world.
of Earlham graduates have a job within six months of graduating
Earlham’s medical school acceptance rate. Well above the national average. Our students go on to study medicine at Stanford, Harvard, and John Hopkins.
founded startups by Earlham grads since 2010.
every Earlham student is guaranteed a funded internship or research project-at home or abroad-through our Epic Advantage.