About Gustavus

Campus Location

• St. Peter, Minnesota (800 West College Avenue)
• On 340 acres in the scenic Minnesota River Valley
• 1 hour southwest of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul and 10 minutes north of Mankato/North Mankato

Institution Type

• Private
• Liberal Arts
• Coeducational
• Residential
• Church-affiliated

Degrees Offered

• Bachelor of Arts
• 71 majors in 24 academic departments and 3 interdisciplinary programs (including 15 honors majors)

Accreditation

• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools—Higher Learning Commission
• National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
• National Association of Schools of Music
• National League for Nursing, Inc.

Enrollment

• 2,456 (FTE, fall 2009)
• 57.3% women; 42.7% men
• 13% racially underrepresented students
• 36 international students enrolled in degree programs

Average Class Size

15

Student/Faculty Ratio

11:1

Faculty

• 199 full-time faculty; 87 part-time
• 58% of full-time faculty are tenured
• 97% of tenure-track faculty hold the terminal degree in their fields

Geographic Origins of the Student Body

From 41 states and 13 countries

Affiliation

Lutheran (ELCA)

Alumni

25,413 located, living alumni (as of September 22, 2009) residing in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as 61 other nations

Founding

In 1862 by Swedish Lutheran immigrant and pastor Eric Norelius in Red Wing, Minnesota; moved from Red Wing to East Union in 1863 and to St. Peter in 1876

Naming

• First named Minnesota Elementar Schola in 1863 and changed to St. Ansgar's Academy in 1865
• In 1876, named Gustavus Adolphus College to honor Swedish king Gustav II Adolf (1594–1632)

Academic Calendar

4-1-4: A 4-month fall semester, a 1-month interim in January, and a 4-month spring semester; students typically enroll in 4 courses each semester and 1 in the January Interim Experience.

Costs (2009–2010)

• Tuition — $31,460
• Room and Board — $5,000/$2,900
• Fees — $650
• Books and Incidentals (estimated) — $1,810

Academic Distinctions

• A chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest scholastic honor society
• Host of the Nobel Conference, the first ongoing educational conference of its kind sanctioned by The Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden
• Fulbright, Goldwater, Marshall, National Science Foundation, Rhodes, and Truman fellowship winners
• Peace Education Program and the annual MAYDAY! Peace Conference
• 80 percent 4-year graduation rate
• 90 percent of underclass students enrolled in the previous fall return for the next fall
• Acclaimed Writing Across the Curriculum program
• Award-winning community service programs
• Strong career development and internship programs
• 50 percent of graduating seniors study abroad
• Individualized majors
• Curriculum options: Curriculum I (distributive core) and Curriculum II (integrated core)
• First Term Seminars—Students take a small class to improve critical thinking and college writing skills from a professor-adviser
• Numerous student research opportunities, including research, scholarship, and creativity grants available for faculty/student collaboration

Campus Life

• Quality fine arts programs with more than 30 theatre, arts, and music organizations
• A nationally ranked forensics team, one of only two from private, liberal arts colleges to finish in the top 20 in each of the past three years
• 25 varsity athletic teams and more than 40 intramural and club sports
• With more than 100 student organizations, there are many activities to choose from and 99 percent of Gusties are actively involved in at least one extracurricular activity
• Exceptional facilities, including an awe-inspiring and award-winning chapel, a spacious library, 2 well-equipped science buildings, 2 fine arts buildings, a new campus center, a multimillion-dollar sports complex, and 13 residence halls/apartment buildings

Visiting Campus

• Take the Virtual Tour
• Driving Directions to Campus

Contact

• Address — 800 West College Avenue, St. Peter, MN 56082
• Telephone — 507-933-8000
• E-mail — web@gustavus.edu