Franklin Pierce University

Franklin Pierce University is a private institution known for its distinctive liberal arts heritage, intellectually enriching faculty/student relationships, and excellence in graduate and professional education that offers academic programs that are designed to connect academic majors and programs to career options. The University consists of the College at Rindge and the College of Graduate & Professional Studies. Degrees are offered through the doctoral level. The institutional mission focuses on preparing citizens and leaders of conscience for a new century who make significant contributions to their professions and communities, whether their aspirations are local or global. The diverse student population represents 30 states and 18 countries. The College of Graduate & Professional Studies enrolls approximately 1,000 adult learners in 33 degree and certificate programs in leadership, business, management, health care, and education at our four graduate and professional studies campuses across the state, in Arizona, and through online distance learning. The main residential campus in Rindge enrolls approximately 1,400 undergraduates in over 40 academic programs of study in business, education, humanities, the sciences, and the visual and performing arts. Students receive personal attention in this close-knit community; the average class size is 16, and the student-faculty ratio is 14:1. Located on 1,200 acres surrounded by lakes, woods, and mountains in the beautiful Monadnock region of New Hampshire, Rindge is 65 miles from Boston, 112 miles from Hartford and 236 miles from New York City. Franklin Pierce's commitment to the environment is deeply rooted in the rich natural setting of our Rindge campus. With over 1,000 acres of undeveloped forests, fields, wetlands, and lakeshore, the land provides excellent opportunities for experiential learning about ecology as well as the impacts of humans on the natural world. In 2007, we signed the American College and University Presidents Commitment to Climate Neutrality. Our Sustainability Council is working on a number of actions to decrease greenhouse gas production, improve land stewardship, and reduce the environmental impacts of campus operations. All of these programs are now part of a larger strategic plan, the Green Earth Initiative, which strives to make the environment a central focus of all University actions. Students have the opportunity to participate in international studies on campus and study abroad, and Honors programs provide additional challenges. The Global Citizenship Program and the University's own semester-long programs in Vienna, Austria; Athens, Greece; and Lyon, France give students the chance to engage in studies with a global focus. The "Pierce Walk" on the Camino, in the tradition of the long-standing "Pierce Walk" in Europe, allows approximately 15 students to travel in this one semester, long-distance walk through southern France and across northern Spain along the old pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. Physical facilities of the main campus include modern classroom buildings with state-of-the-art technology, a MAC computer lab, digital photo and print labs, a TV and radio station, the library, an academic services center, the Thoreau Art Gallery, a campus center, residence halls and apartment houses, townhouse complexes, a field house, an air frame recreation complex, a dance studio, a health center, a boat house, the Lakeside Educational Center, a glassblowing facility and a theater. Campus activities include a number of academic and special interest clubs, and groups centered around common political, arts, and academic interests. Our active Adventure Recreation and intramural programs offer a wide variety of activities on campus and throughout the region's many natural recreational facilities. The Franklin Pierce Ravens sponsor 22 (11 women's and 11 men's) intercollegiate sports teams competing at the NCAA Division II level.