Overview

Sarah Lawrence College has been an exemplar of progressive education since its founding in 1926. This private, coeducational college offers students a dynamic community of internationally renowned scholars, writers, scientists, and artists. In the Oxford and Cambridge tradition, students pursue individualized courses of study with the guidance of a faculty mentor called a “don.” As students deeply explore their interests, they find meaning, direction, and an innovative spirit—not externally imposed, but emerging from their own intellectual and creative appetites.

Sarah Lawrence College occupies 44 wooded acres in Yonkers, New York, near the village of Bronxville—just north of New York City. A 30-minute train ride from the Bronxville station takes students into Midtown Manhattan.

Academic Program

More than 90 percent of all classes are small seminars. Seminars are combined with individual, biweekly student-faculty conferences—plus studios, labs, performances, and internships. Undergraduates have nearly 50 disciplines from which to select courses. Students receive written evaluations; grades are recorded for transcript purposes only.

Our students are men and women who share an enthusiasm for intellectual rigor, academic risk taking, creativity in all disciplines, and original and interdisciplinary work. We are particularly committed to having our faculty, administration, and student body reflect the social, racial, and economic diversity that characterizes our society. The college’s 1,200 undergraduate students come from nearly every state and from 35 countries. Eighty-five percent of students live on campus.

Faculty

With a 9:1 student-faculty ratio, our faculty has a higher level of one-on-one involvement with each student’s education than is found at almost any other liberal arts college in the country.

Facilities

In addition to our round-tabled classrooms, Sarah Lawrence has outstanding theaters, art and performance studios, and music spaces; modern science labs; state-of-the-art graphic computing equipment; competitive sports facilities; a 60,000-square-foot visual arts center; and newly renovated dining facilities.

Student Life

The Sarah Lawrence campus integrates study and play, life and work. Amid the Tudor architecture and distinctive landscape, students attend classes, share housing, and enjoy a community of lively interchange and expression. Dramatic and musical performances, readings, and student organizations bring people together daily. Community service opportunities, many connected with coursework, engage students in efforts toward social change. For cultural offerings and internship opportunities, the resources of New York City enhance everyone’s experience. Students find inspiration and entertainment within the city’s pulse, and benefit immensely from faculty connections to its boundless supply of energy and talent.

Residential Life

Sarah Lawrence College has quite possibly one of the most interesting arrangements for housing of any college campus. Former private houses, sprawling real-life apartment buildings, cooperative houses, a converted carriage house, traditional suite-style dormitories, contemporary community-focused dorms, and even a converted section of the president’s house offer students a living situation comparable to their educational experience: unique, to say the least.