Hastings College

Located in Hastings, Nebraska, Hastings College is a private, residential four-year college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Currently, more than 1,200 students study at HC, where they can choose from 43 majors in 32 areas of study and 13 pre-professional programs. HC also awards a Master of Arts in Teaching degree. Hastings College employs faculty members who pride themselves on classroom teaching and maintains a 13:1 student/faculty ratio. In this environment, Hastings College students build lifelong relationships with their professors. They work together not only in the classroom but also as students seeking internships, secure international study opportunities and research grants, apply to grad schools and conduct job searches. Among the truly unique opportunities HC provides is the Irish Fellows program which allows students to formulate a research question and design an independent research project to explore that question. Students, while living in Lahinch, County Clare, Ireland, for a month, attend lectures and field trips and are encouraged to independently explore. They make contacts and conduct research.Through its unique J-Term session in January, Hastings College encourages discovery, innovation and unforgettable learning experiences. During this three-week session, students take interdisciplinary courses,many of which are taught by distinguished visiting faculty - travel overseas and complete internships. In 2011, Washington Monthly ranked HC 40th among 249 liberal arts colleges across the country based on the number of students actively serving the community and total service hours.Hastings College draws students from diverse backgrounds. They call Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and several other states and countries home. Some are Presbyterian; most are not. Ethnic minorities currently comprise a record 11.8% of the student population. Students raised on ranches and farms learn and live with students from metropolitan areas.As a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), Hastings College offers 19 sports including a rodeo team. In 2010, the HC Bronco Men's Soccer team won the NAIA National Championship and was runner-up in 2011 while the HC Bronco Women's Soccer team earned their second consecutive national tournament appearance. HC student athletes consistently earn academic honors at the national and conference levels. During the 2010-2011 academic year, Hastings College students earned 50 All-American Scholar-Athlete honors. Most Hastings College students live on campus for at least three years, where they participate in traditions such as Homecoming, Trick-or-Treat Street, the Boar's Head Dinner and the Perkins Library All-Nighter held before finals. Through the Student Association and HC Does Weekends, the campus offers entertainment opportunities, including performances by comedians and bands, movies, bingo for groceries and dodgeball tournaments. For more intellectual pursuits, the Artist Lecture Series (ALS) hosts nationally-recognized speakers, while the ALS Student Committee hosts a student-organized symposium each year. With 25,000 people, the City of Hastings maintains a strong relationship with the College. Many local businesses and nonprofit organizations host HC students as interns and hire them as employees.