Earlham College - Curriculum and Community

Curriculum and Community

Earlham ranks eighth in the nation (out of 1,302 colleges and universities) in its percentage of graduates who go on to receive a Ph.D. in the biological sciences and 26th in the percentage of students going on to Ph.D. programs in all fields. Roughly 70% of Earlham students go on a semester-length off-campus program to such destinations as Mexico, the U.S./ Mexican border, Vienna, Martinique, Northern Ireland, Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain, New Zealand, Japan and Tanzania. This high rate is possible because a student's financial aid helps to offset the full cost of one semester on any Earlham-approved program. In addition, there are a number of shorter off-campus May terms, with destinations both within the U.S. and abroad (Australia, Galapagos, Senegal, Menorca, and Turkey, as recent examples). Earlham has an exchange program with Waseda University in Japan, which has existed since 1963. In addition, Earlham College offers the SICE program in Morioka, Japan, a program in which about twelve to fourteen students teach English in middle schools in Morioka.

In the sciences, Earlham places a large emphasis on integrating research into the undergraduate curriculum. Through Ford/Knight grants, most science faculty have been or are currently involved with students in research. Earlham has good representation in the Butler Undergraduate Research Conference, held each year in the spring. The pre-medicine program is particularly distinguished, in that over the last ten years all but one of its graduates have been accepted into medical school. Earlham's biology and chemistry departments have a long history of producing distinguished graduates, such as Warder Clyde Allee, Wendell Stanley, Jim Fowler, and Larry E. Overman.

The choir department organizes regional and national tours every year for its ensembles. In January 2012, the concert choir will perform in Indianapolis, IN, St. Louis, MO, and Chicago, IL. The choral and instrumental music departments collaborate on a biennial basis, performing works such as Carmina Burana. The College has a full Gamelan ensemble, which performs concerts in the Spring. Earlham has an entirely student-managed public radio station, WECI 91.5FM.

Earlham has students from 77 countries, the most out of any liberal arts college in the United States. This equates to roughly 200 students, which is the highest total number of international students for any co-educational liberal arts college in the country (Mount Holyoke has more, but is a female-only institution). This high diversity is due in part to a strong relationship with the United World College network of international boarding high schools. The Davis Cup, which is awarded to the college with the most current students from this program, has been awarded to Earlham several times in recent memory, though as of 2011 Brown University regained the title by a margin of five students. The college also draws from all regions of the United States, with students from 42 states. Domestic minorities represent 15% of the student body.

Earlham is known for having the United States' only Equestrian program which is run entirely by students. Lessons are available for students of the college and community members.

In keeping with Quaker tradition, Earlham students voluntarily invest many hours of community service into the Richmond community. Students report an average of 23,000 hours of volunteering work every year, and Earlham's Bonner program offers financial aid in exchange for volunteering work for students with high financial need.

Earlham College is a member of the Great Lakes Colleges Association.