All
admitted students to Berea College receive our Tuition Promise
Scholarship. This scholarship is combined with financial aid you may
receive as well as any other scholarship you may be awarded by outside
parties or organizations to cover 100% of tuition costs. For most Berea
students, the Tuition Promise Scholarship amounts to nearly $100,000
over four years.
No student pays for tuition.
We
are able to provide this level of financial assistance due to the
generous support of alumni, friends, organizations, and others who
believe, as we do, that a student’s income should not dictate their
outcome.
So when you enroll at Berea, your scholarship will be
provided by people you don’t even know who believe in your potential —
and who know that Berea is well-positioned to help you realize that
potential.
About Us
Berea College offers a high-quality education to
bright and talented students who have limited economic resources.
Founded in 1855 by ardent abolitionists and radical reformers, Berea was
the first interracial and coeducational college in the South. Today, we
are consistently ranked as one of the leading private liberal arts
colleges in the United States. We earn this recognition by focusing on
rigorous academic programs and graduating students with little or no
student loan debt.
Distinctions
The unique combination of factors that distinguish Berea includes:
- Each student receives a tuition scholarship worth nearly $100,000 for four years.
- The College is one of only seven federally recognized Work Colleges in the United States.
- Berea primarily serves the Appalachian region and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
- The
College has an extensive collection of personal papers, organizational
records, photographs, oral histories and non-commercial musical
recordings gathered over nearly a century, documenting the history and
culture of the Southern Appalachian region.
- The College has had multiple Compton, Fulbright, Truman, Udall and Watson fellowship winners.
Academic Programs
Berea
is a nationally recognized liberal arts college offering students
experiential learning opportunities in and out of the classroom.
- Bachelor
degrees in 32 majors, including arts and sciences and select
professional programs as well as independent, student-designed majors
and a dual-degree engineering program in cooperation with the University
of Kentucky
- 15 teacher education programs
- 16 national and international honor societies
- Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
- Approximately
230 Berea students study, intern, or teach abroad each year, most with
the generous support of education abroad scholarships and grants
- The Berea Term Abroad program pays up to 75 percent of student cost
Faculty
The College retains excellent faculty from prestigious graduate programs across the nation and the world.
- Full-time faculty – 132; part-time instructors – 55
- 92 percent of full-time faculty hold the highest degree in their fields
- Student-to-faculty ratio – 10:1
Alumni
For
a liberal arts college with an annual enrollment of about 1,600
students, Berea produces a significant variety of leaders in fields such
as education, science, entertainment, law, business, and government.
- 17,844 living alumni in all 50 states as well as in the District of Columbia and U.S. territories
- Alumni in 75 nations outside the United States
- Distinguished
alumni include: John Fenn, 2002 Nobel Prize winner; G. Samuel Hurst,
physicist and inventor of touch screen technology; Juanita M. Kreps,
former U.S. Secretary of Commerce; George Lester, developer of the
catalytic convertor; and Jack Roush, automotive engineer, designer and
owner of Roush Racing
Campus Centers
Berea bases all
curricular and co-curricular activities on the College’s Great
Commitments, a series of mission statements focusing on equality,
inclusivity, service, labor, the liberal arts and Appalachia. Campus
centers are critical to ensuring that each of the Great Commitments is
carried out, completing the Berea experience for all students.
The
Loyal Jones Appalachian Center
(LJAC) fosters the College’s Great Commitment to Appalachia. To
accomplish this mission, LJAC strives to: 1) develop service-oriented
leaders for Appalachia by sponsoring and integrating educational
programs on and off campus; 2) explore and illuminate the richness of
the Appalachian region, people and cultures; and 3) assist communities,
organizations and citizens to work toward the future they envision.
The Center for Excellence in Learning through Service
(CELTS) is the home of student service and community engagement.
Students serve through volunteer programs, help facilitate academic
service-learning courses and work in local non-profit organizations and
schools. CELTS also houses the Bonner Scholars Program and provides
faculty development in service-learning.
The
Carter G. Woodson Center for Interracial Education integrates the College’s
Black Cultural Center
and the African and African American Studies program by supporting
collaborations related to interracial education, equality and justice
and shared commitments to cultural understanding.
The Francis and Louise Hutchins Center for International Education
seeks to foster understanding of and appreciation for “all peoples of
the earth” by offering education abroad opportunities, international
student and scholar services, faculty and curriculum development and
campus programming each year emphasizing a particular world region.
The Willis D. Weatherford, Jr. Campus Christian Center
offers opportunities for worship, weekly prayer, interfaith dialogue
and intellectual and spiritual engagement with the Christian faith
through convocations, lectures, workshops and occasional spiritual
retreats.
The Center for Transformative Learning
(CTL) fosters the personal, intellectual and professional growth of
students and instructors through peer consultation, faculty development,
internships and career development programs.
Labor Program
Education at Berea, where students pay no tuition, involves both academics and student labor.
- Every student works 10-15 hours per week while carrying a full academic load.
- Students earn money for books, food and other expenses, and their appreciation for the dignity and utility of labor is enhanced.
- Students
gain valuable job experience for their future careers by working in
more than 100 college offices, departments and off-campus programs.
Student Life
Berea’s social and cultural activities complement academics and teach students valuable leadership skills.
- The Convocation series brings notable national and regional speakers, scholars and performers to campus.
- The wellness program encourages healthy lifestyles by offering free personal training for students.
- A
member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA),
students participate in 14 intercollegiate sports (7men’s and 7 women’s)
and cheerleading.
- More than 60 student clubs and organizations enhance student life.
Student Profile
Incoming
Berea students have financial need and must meet high academic
standards. Since its founding, Berea has welcomed students from “all
nations and climes.”
- Of incoming first-year students, 58 percent ranked in the top 20 percent of their high school graduating classes.
- Entering first-year students averaged 24.4 composite ACT scores.
- There are nearly 1,600 undergraduates, representing 43 states, 2 U.S. territories and 62 countries
- 72 percent of students are from the Appalachian region and Kentucky
- 25 percent of students are minorities – 384 students (not including international students)
- 120 students (8 percent of the student body) are from countries other than the U.S.
- The median family income for a first-year Berea student is $29,043
- 96 percent of first-year students are eligible for Pell grants
Annual Expenses
Berea charges no tuition, so students graduate with little or no debt.
- Cost
of education – $24,300 per student in 2015-16 (provided by the College
from the endowment, gifts, scholarships and grants brought by students)
- Room and board – $6,410
- Fees – $570(includes a $340 technology fee to support student laptop computer program)
- Books and incidentals – $3,100
Support
Generous
support from alumni and friends makes Berea’s unique labor and learning
experience possible for promising young people from Appalachia and
beyond.
- A privately supported, nondenominational college,
Berea relies on gifts from alumni and friends and on income from the
College’s endowment.
- Berea’s endowment funds 74.3 percent of the education and general operating budget.
- Approximately
$4 million must be raised annually for current operating expenses in
addition to capital and tuition replacement funding needs.
Fine Arts
Berea offers varied opportunities for all interested students to create and perform including:
- Music –
4 choral groups and 7 instrumental ensembles. Presser Music Building
offers state-of-the-art studios, classrooms, a recital hall, rehearsal
rooms and practice rooms. Kentucky’s largest 56-bell carillon, housed in
Draper Tower, provides concerts.
- Theatre –
Berea College Theatre Laboratory mounts full-length and one-act plays
directed by faculty, students and visiting artists. All performances
take place in the Jelkyl Drama Center – either in the 250-seat McGaw
Theatre or in the black box Musser Theatre.
- Dance – Offers 25 classes in dance and a dance minor. Ten student dance groups perform a variety of styles.
- Visual Art –
Offers gallery space for year-round student and faculty art exhibits.
Permanent art collection display includes the Dimitrie Berea Gallery,
dedicated to the internationally recognized post-impressionist painter.
Sustainable Campus Features
The College environment demonstrates sustainable living and enhances student learning:
- Completed
in August 2013, the Deep Green Residence Hall is one of the most
energy-efficient residence halls in the nation. It earned Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification and Petal
Recognition under the Living Building Challenge.
- Recently
renovated historical buildings and residence halls include sustainable
features and have been retro-fitted, often using recycled materials. The
renovations reduce the College’s ecological footprint by offering
better insulation, daylighting, occupancy sensors for lights and
low-flow toilets.
- Approximately 8,300 acres of forest are
managed using sustainable practices. Over 1,200 acres of farmland,
including the College garden and greenhouse, are used to grow local
foods and provide instruction in the agriculture and natural resources
curriculum.
- Lincoln Hall was the first building in Kentucky to be LEED-certified. It attained LEED Silver status.
- Berea
College is home to Kentucky’s first ecological village (Ecovillage), an
ecologically sustainable housing and learning complex with a
state-of-the-art child care facility. Ecovillage residences consume 75
percent less energy and water per capita than conventional housing.
- The
historic Boone Tavern Hotel and Restaurant on College Square, which is
partially staffed by student workers, is Kentucky’s first green hotel,
having attained LEED Gold status.
- The Central Plant, built to LEED standards, has reduced the ecological footprint of the College by lowering energy.
Service to the Region
Berea provides outreach to the Appalachian region through federally funded programs and student-led service projects.
- Partners
For Education houses 10 federally funded programs (e.g., GEAR UP
Appalachia, the Promise Neighborhood Initiative, and Upward Bound)
designed to support Berea’s commitment to serving students of
Appalachia.
- Students in the Sustainability and Environmental
Studies program participate in the development of sustainable
communities throughout Appalachia.
Location
Berea,
with an estimated population of 14,658 in 2014, is located 35 miles
south of Lexington, where Kentucky’s Bluegrass region meets the
foothills of the Cumberland Mountains. The Kentucky legislature
designated Berea the “Folk Arts and Crafts Capital of Kentucky.” The
College is located near the center of town and is easily accessible by
car from Interstate 75. Driving time from Louisville, Kentucky;
Knoxville, Tennessee; or Cincinnati, Ohio is about two hours. Commercial
airline service is available through Blue Grass Airport in Lexington.
Tours
The
Visitor Center and Shoppe is the starting point for a 50-minute walking
tour that provides a historic overview of the College. Covering
three-quarters of a mile, this student-led tour visits notable
structures including the Frost Building (originally a Carnegie library),
Phelps Stokes Chapel (built by students from 1904-06) and the Draper
Classroom Building (renovated to be eco-friendly).
In addition,
tours of the Student Crafts program (including broomcraft, ceramics,
jewelry, weaving and woodcraft production areas) where students produce
hand-made items sold in the Visitors Center and Shoppe, Log House Craft
Gallery, Boone Tavern Hotel Gift Shop and around the world.
Tour hours:
Monday-Friday:
There will be two (2) scheduled tours daily at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00
p.m. At each of those times, both a historical tour and a craft tour
will be offered. Outside of those hours, tours will be scheduled by
reservation.
Saturday: Historical tours on the hour from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. (No craft tours on Saturday)
Prospective
students may view the campus Monday-Friday (8am-5pm) by appointment
with the Admissions Office. You may schedule a tour by filling out an
online visit request form or by calling the Campus Visit Registration
Center at 1-800-326-5948.
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