Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University is a private institution that was founded in 1842. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,734, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 200 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Ohio Wesleyan University's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 108. Its tuition and fees are $43,230 (2015-16).

Ohio Wesleyan University is a small liberal arts school located in the city of Delaware, about 20 minutes north of the state capital, Columbus. Students at Ohio Wesleyan can choose from more than 90 majors in the fields of arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. Freshmen have the opportunity to make friends through the Fresh X program, in which they go on an organized retreat with their classmates the summer before their first semester of classes. More than 80 percent of Ohio Wesleyan University students volunteer by building houses with Habitat for Humanity, tutoring children through Buckeye Valley Reads or participating in other programs.

The university, often called OWU, also offers about 100 student organizations, Greek life and intramural sports teams for students to join. More serious athletes can try out for the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops varsity teams, which compete in the NCAA Division III North Coast Athletic Conference. The OWU basketball teams play in an arena named after alumnus Branch Rickey, who took one of the first steps in integrating baseball by signing Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball.

Ohio Wesleyan University is a national liberal arts university with a philosophy and curriculum that directly connect traditional liberal arts with international and practical experience. The OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan's unique curricular approach, melds interdisciplinary classroom and laboratory learning with travel and field experience to provide students with a rich learning experience that prepares them for their next step, whether that is a career or graduate school. Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan is remarkable for the depth of its academic and pre-professional programs, the international dimension of its curriculum, its focus on community through leadership and service, and its unwavering commitment to linking theory and practice in a global context and in every field of study. The university's commitment to uniting theory and practice is exemplified by its program of competitive grants, which allow students to propose and conduct original research, complete internships, participate in service, or experience cultural immersion throughout the world. Additionally, travel-learning courses invite students to travel internationally with classmates and professors as part of the course curriculum, giving students an up-close look at the issues they are studying in the classroom. Travel-learning courses have visited locales as disparate as Bangladesh and Brazil, studying topics ranging from economics to tectonics. Ohio Wesleyan also provides a large offering of traditional study-abroad options. Students can arrange individual projects, and formal programs are offered in more than 20 countries. The OWU Connection also features interdisciplinary classes and programs that enable students to explore important topics in depth from a variety of perspectives. The university offers 86 majors, with additional minors and concentrations, far more than most institutions of its size. Honors study offers unusual opportunities to talented students, while all students are encouraged to pursue internships and research. Classes are small, and nearly all full-time tenure track-professors hold a Ph.D. or equivalent. Ohio Wesleyan has no teaching assistants; all classes are taught by professors. Ohio Wesleyan is located on a beautiful 200-acre campus, connected to Delaware's lively downtown. Students come from more than 40 states and nearly 40 countries. Housing options include six large residence halls, a number of smaller special-interest living units, and seven fraternity houses. Sorority houses are nonresidential. Located only 20 miles from Columbus, Ohio's capital and the nation's 15th-largest city, Ohio Wesleyan offers the best of small-town living with the abundant opportunities for learning, internships, and cultural opportunities found in a major urban center. Students can participate in nearly 100 campus organizations as well as 23 NCAA Division III men's and women's athletic teams. In 2011, the men's soccer team won its second Division III national championship, and the team's coach, Jay Martin, became the winningest coach in men's collegiate soccer across all NCAA divisions. OWU has won the North Coast Athletic Conference All-Sports Trophy nine times and boasts more conference championships and Academic All-America scholar-athletes than any other school in the conference. Ohio Wesleyan also has an active intramural and club sports scene. Ohio Wesleyan has been on the President's Honor Roll for Community Service, with Distinction, for the last four consecutive years, and in 2009 was one of only three colleges in the United States to win the President's Award for Excellence in General Community Service.