10+ Quaker Colleges in the US

The Quakers is a religious organisation also known as “Society of Friends”. Their membership spans numerous countries around the world.

Quakers are concerned about education. They have always had the notion that education should be freely available to everyone. The first Quaker school was founded in Philadelphia in 1689 (William Penn Select) and since that time many Quaker primary schools, as well as colleges, have been founded by Friends.

Historical role of Quakers in establishing colleges in the US

When the Quakers first got to America, they quickly established schools to train both boys and girls academically. Quaker schools were established in Philadelphia around the 1600s. With the notion that spiritual, social, and intellectual growth are connected, Quakers have always emphasized that education contributes to the growth of the child.

The first Quaker school was established in Philadelphia in 1689 (William Penn Select) and after the religious organisation has set up a number of  Quaker schools (primary and colleges).

List of 10+ Quaker Colleges

There are 15 Quaker colleges and academic institutions in the United States. They have morphed into a diversified variety of institutions, yet there is still some Quaker ethos and legacy.

They are:

Earlham School of Religion (ESR)

Location: Richmond, Indiana.

Earlham School of Religion (ESR), a postgraduate section of Earlham College. It is the Religious Society of Friends’ premier graduate school (Quakers). The institution can be found in Richmond, Indiana.

The following is ESR’s founding principle: ” Anchored in the Christian Quaker heritage of meditation that spurs action, Earlham School of Religion educates doctrinally diverse learners for a multicultural world. Spiritual formation, intellectual study, social involvement, and active ministry are part of our curriculum.”

Barclay College

Location: Haviland, Kansas.

Barclay College is a small Quaker college located in Haviland, Kansas. Although it is well renowned for its theological degrees, the school also grants other professional degrees.

The college has granted full-tuition financial assistance to students who attend full-time and pay to live in hostels since the autumn of 2007.

Bryn Mawr College

Location: Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

Bryn Mawr College is a liberal arts institution for women located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Bryn Mawr College, established as a Quaker institution in 1885, is a member of the Seven Sisters, a network of prestigious, traditional women’s academic institutions in the United States and the Tri-College Consortium, which includes Haverford College and Swarthmore College.

There are around 1,350 undergraduate scholars, and 450 postgraduate students enrolled at the college. It was the first women ‘s college to grant a Doctorate.

Earlham College

Location: Richmond, Indiana

Earlham College, located in Richmond, Indiana, is a private liberal arts college. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) founded the institution in 1847. It places a strong emphasis on Quaker principles like honesty, devotion to reconciliation and economic fairness, respect and understanding, and collective decision-making.

The Earlham School of Religion, its affiliated graduate theological division, grants three graduate degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Ministry, and Master of Arts in Religion.

Friends University

Location: Wichita, Kansas

Friends University is a private Christian-oriented higher institution located in Wichita, Kansas, United States.

Friends University aims to prepare students to respect God and help others by combining their cognitive, religious, and occupational lives as a Christian university with Quaker traditions.

Friends University was established in 1898, but its history dates back to the mid-1880s when the Christian Assemblies of Kansas started construction on a structure west of Wichita that would have square footage under one roof rather than just about any other educational establishment west of the Mississippi River.

George Fox University

Location: Newberg, Oregon

George Fox University is a privately-funded, Christian college located in the city of Newberg, Oregon,

It was established in 1891 as a Quaker institution and now has over 4,000 students across its headquarters in Newberg and its branches in Portland, Salem, and Redmond.

The 108-acre headquarters is situated near downtown Newberg, at the crossroads of Oregon Routes 99W and 219.

George Fox University is a nationally renowned Christian university dedicated to offering students focused assistance, global learning and service opportunities, and a supportive environment that promotes intellectual rigour and spiritual enlightenment.

Guilford College

Location: Greensboro, North Carolina

Guilford College, founded in 1837 in Greensboro, North Carolina, offers students the knowledge, insights, and ideas they need to make a difference in the world.

The Guilford Edge is a completely revamped academic experience that allows every extraordinary student involvement in real-world learning every semester.

Guilford’s curriculum is characterized by community-based, interdisciplinary problem-solving tasks that occur across the country and beyond the globe.

Haverford College

Location: Haverford, Pennsylvania

Haverford College is a selective liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It started as a Quaker men’s institution in 1833, expanded to include non-Quakers in 1849, and then became open to all sexes in 1980.

The college offers a wide range of bachelor’s degrees in 31 different courses, including arts, humanities, and biological sciences.

Almost all of the college’s roughly 1300 undergraduate students live on school premises. An honour code governs behavioural and educational life, which is shaped by Quaker philosophy. Its 216-acre suburban campus is mostly made up of sandstone Quaker Colonial-Style buildings.

Haverford is one of the most prestigious colleges in the United States.

LIU Brooklyn

Location:  Brooklyn, New York

LIU Brooklyn is a New York City-based private institution. It is the earliest and oldest of the private Long Island University system’s two main campuses.

For over eight years, LIU Brooklyn has provided great academic experiences to learners from all areas of life.

It is the founding division of Long Island University is among the country’s biggest and most extensive private universities. The campus focuses on educating over 11,000 credit-seeking and continuing education learners, trying to prepare them for purposeful careers and empowering them to contribute to the growth of their own neighbourhoods and around the world. It is well regarded for its quality academics, reputed faculty, holistic career counselling, state-of-the-art equipment, Division I sports, and small class sizes.

Malone University

Location: Canton, Ohio

Malone University, located in Canton, Ohio, is a privately funded Christian university. Walter and Emma Malone established it in 1892 as a modest co-educational theological institute called Cleveland Bible College.

The school has often sustained a strong partnership with an evangelical denomination of Quakerism — the Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Province.

Malone University is affiliated with Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, a North American annual gathering of the Evangelical Friends Church Worldwide.

Despite the University’s long association with this evangelical Quaker movement, the community represents a wide range of religious perspectives, including approximately 50 Christian denominations and some non-Christian religious traditions.

Malone students aren’t prompted to claim any religious beliefs, despite the fact that all university personnel, officials, and faculty must sign a declaration of faith.

Swarthmore College

Location: Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

Swarthmore College is a Pennsylvania-based private liberal arts college. Swarthmore was among the first coeducational institutions in the United States, having opened its doors in 1864 and holding its first lectures in 1869. It was founded as a college “under the supervision of Friends, [and] where an education comparable to that of the finest educational establishments in our country” might be acquired.

Swarthmore had shed its religious links and declared itself non-sectarian by 1906.

Alumni of the school have achieved fame in a variety of professions.

Whittier College

Location: Whittier, California

Whittier College was established in 1887 and was renamed after John Greenleaf Whittier, a Quaker reformer and writer.

Ever since the college evolved into a nationally recognized liberal arts college, it has had a multicultural student population and offers distinctive, well-received courses.

Around 1,700 students reside on campus and research with over 100 faculty members. Faculty members who are full-time staff members lead small, interactive classes in this course.

While the college has had no formal relationship with the Religious Society of Friends ever since the 1940s, its Quaker ethical norms on individuality, personal liberty, honesty, fairness, and internationalism—have a profound influence on its culture.

These principles require that they welcome college people of all sexes, races, and cultures.

William Penn University

William Penn University is a four-year liberal arts academy situated in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Penn is among the most ethnically varied student gatherings in the Midwest, where students come from 46 states and 23 countries.

Penn College was formed in 1873 by Quakers. In 1933, it was later renamed William Penn College, and eventually William Penn University in 2000.

Quaker Colleges in the US FAQ