Whitman College

• Whitman is an independent, co-educational, non-sectarian, residential, liberal arts and sciences undergraduate college.
• Whitman received its charter as a four-year, degree-granting college in 1883.
• Historic Walla Walla, recently named ‘Friendliest Town in America,’ is in the scenic, sunny southeastern corner of Washington, 3 hours from Spokane, 4 from Portland and 4.5 hours from Seattle.

• Whitman College’s 88% graduation rate is one of the highest west of the Mississippi River.
• The Princeton Review’s annual The Best Colleges publication consistently gives high rankings to Whitman for Professors Get High Marks, Best College Theater, Everyone Plays Intramural Sports, Best Classroom Experience, School Runs Like Butter, Happiest Students, Best College Radio Station, Best Quality of Life, Lots of Race/Class Interaction, and Class Discussions Are Encouraged.
• More than 40 percent of alumni contribute annually to the annual fund. The percentage of alumni financial support places Whitman among the top 3 colleges in the West.
• In the past ten years Whitman students have won 1 Rhodes Scholarship, 62 Fulbright Scholarships, 25 National Science Foundation and 12 Watson Fellowships. During this period numerous Truman, Udall, Beinicke, Goldwater,  Princeton in Asia, Africa and Latin America Fellowships; and German, Spanish and French Assistantships  have been garnered by Whitman graduates.

• 92% of full-time faculty hold the most advanced degree in their field; there are no teaching assistants.
• We have 51 majors, plus three combined programs (engineering, oceanography and forestry/environmental management), and 35 minors.
• Combined programs in engineering (with California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Washington), oceanography (with University of Washington), forestry, and environmental management (with Duke).

Majors
Anthropology
Anthropology – Environmental Studies
Art
Art – Environmental Studies
Art History and Visual Culture Studies
Asian Studies and Middle Eastern Studies
Astronomy
Biology
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology
Biology – Environmental Studies
Biology – Geology
Chemistry
Chemistry – Environmental Studies
Chemistry – Geology
Chinese
Classical Studies
Classics
Computer Science
Economics
Economics – Environmental Studies
Economics – Mathematics
Engineering (3-2 Combined Plan)
English
Environmental Humanities
Film and Media Studies
French and Francophone Studies
Gender Studies
Geology
Geology – Astronomy
Geology – Environmental Studies
Geology – Physics
German Studies
Hispanic Studies
History
History – Environmental Studies
Japanese
Mathematics
Mathematics-Physics
Music
Philosophy
Physics
Physics – Astronomy
Physics – Environmental Studies
Politics
Politics – Environmental Studies
Psychology
Race and Ethnic Studies
Religion
Rhetoric, Writing and Public Discourse
Sociology
Sociology – Environmental Studies
Theatre and Dance

• 67% of students live on campus.
• 70% of students volunteer.
• More than 22 music groups and ensembles; 8 theatre productions staged per year.
• NCAA Division III, Northwest Conference, 8 varsity teams for men and 9 for women.
• The men’s and women’s road cycling, Ultimate Frisbee and Alpine and Nordic ski teams regularly compete in national championships. In 2013-2014 the women’s Basketball team took 2nd place in the NCAA Division III National Championships, and men’s and women’s Tennis teams and individuals competed in Regional and National NCAA Division III Championships. Individual swimmers competed in the National Championships, highlighted by junior Karl Mering’s 1st place finish in the 100 yard butterfly and 3rd place finish in the 200 yard butterfly. Whitney Rich placed 4th in the 2019 NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Championship, the highest finish of any runner (men’s or women’s) in program history.
• Recent speakers on campus have included Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor; Hedrick Smith, New York Times journalist and author of “The Stolen Dream: Did We Miss the Big Story;” U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell; Tim O’Brien, author of The Things They Carried; Ben Stein, award-winning TV personality; Eric Schlosser, Author of Fast Food Nation; Donald Hall, U.S. Poet Laureate; Saul Williams, award-winning Slam Poet; Judy Shepard, Matthew Shepard Endowed Lecture Series; Anne E. Pusey, Director of the Jane Goodall Institute for Primate Studies; Bruce Babbitt, Former Secretary of the Interior; Daniel Ellsberg, “Pentagon Papers” Activist; William Shultz, Director of Amnesty Int’l; Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Environmental Lawyer; Ralph Nader, Political Activist; Juan Williams, Author and Journalist; Sherman Alexie, noted Native American author and Diane Rehm, NPR News Personality. Monty Python humorist Eric Idle spoke at Whitman’s 2013 commencement and had the privilege of presenting his daughter with her diploma.
• Recent concerts include Death Cab for Cutie, Pink Martini, Guster, Maroon 5, Ben Folds, O.A.R., and Reel Big Fish.

NCAA Division III, Northwest Athletic Conference:

• Whitman College is known for graduating ethical leaders. Whitman currently ranks in the top 15 colleges nationwide for Peace Corps volunteers and the top 20 colleges in Teach for America participants. In the past ten years Whitman students have won 1 Rhodes Scholarship, 62 Fulbright Scholarships, 25 National Science Foundation and 12 Watson Fellowships. During this period numerous Truman, Udall, Beinicke, Goldwater,  Princeton in Asia, Africa and Latin America Fellowships; and German, Spanish and French Assistantships have been garnered by Whitman graduates.
• Seventy percent of Whitman graduates further their formal education: In medical school at Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, University of California at San Francisco and University of Chicago; in law schools at Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Northwestern, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania and Yale; in business at University of California at Berkeley, Dartmouth, Harvard, Northwestern, Stanford, and University of Virginia. “Whitties” are passionate life-long learners.

• Median GPA: 3.76 unweighted
• Middle 50% SAT Reading & Writing: 630-720
• Middle 50% SAT Math: 645-730
• Middle 50% ACT score: 29-32
• 19.63% are First Generation college students
• 28.35% are students of color
• 40.5% male, 59.5% female