Wheaton College

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From the College

Wheaton College’s nearly 150-year history demonstrates the benefits of stable leadership in private Christian higher education—it has had only 7 presidents since it was founded in 1860. Interdenominational and international in constituency, the student body of approximately 2,400 undergraduates (including 200 students in the Conservatory of Music) and approximately 500 graduate students represents all fifty states, some forty countries, and more than thirty Christian denominations. Approximately 80 percent of the undergraduate students come from outside Illinois.

In addition to its undergraduate programs, Wheaton offers master's and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology (M.A., Psy.D.), biblical and theological studies (M.A., Ph.D.), Christian formation and ministry (M.A.), evangelism (M.A.), intercultural studies (M.A.), TESOL (M.A.), and education (M.A.T.).

The student activity calendar includes concerts of all kinds: Chicago outings, on-campus dances, concerts, films, theater productions, and athletic contests. The Office of Christian Outreach provides opportunities for student ministry through student-run missions trips and ministries in urban and suburban Chicago. The Men’s Glee Club, Women’s Chorale, Concert Choir, Symphonic Band, Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, and Gospel Choir, open by audition to all Wheaton students, give concerts throughout the Chicago area and tour other sections of the United States and abroad. Radio broadcasting experience is provided by WETN, the campus radio station.

Wheaton is a member of NCAA Division III. Intercollegiate sports include baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, wrestling, and women’s water polo. In addition, the College has a well-developed club sports program, including crew, cheerleading, ice hockey, lacrosse, tae kwon do, and men’s volleyball, as well as fifteen intramural sports. The Sports and Recreation Complex, which opened in 2000, comprises the Eckert Recreation Center, a renovated King Arena, and the Chrouser Fitness Center. In addition to housing academic offices and classrooms, the complex’s amenities include multiple basketball courts, an 8,000-square-foot weight and fitness area, an elevated running track, an indoor climbing wall, and a glassed-in upper walkway above the fitness center’s 35-meter pool.

Through efforts of the student body, the College publishes The Record, a weekly newspaper; Kodon, the College literary magazine; and The Tower yearbook. An additional forty clubs and organizations round out the cocurricular offerings.

Wheaton’s 80-acre campus is located in a residential suburb (population 50,000) 25 miles west of Chicago, and the educational and cultural features of the Chicago metropolitan area are easily accessible by train and regularly visited by students.

Wheaton grants the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees and, through the Wheaton Conservatory of Music, the Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees.

The following majors are available in the arts and sciences: ancient languages, anthropology, applied health science, archaeology, art, biblical and theological studies, biology, business/economics, chemistry, Christian education and ministry, communication, computer science, economics, education, English, environmental studies, geology, history, interdisciplinary studies, international relations, mathematics, modern languages (French, German, and Spanish), music, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, and sociology. Also, 3-2 programs are available in engineering and nursing, as is a five-year cooperative engineering program with Illinois Institute of Technology and other engineering schools.

The Wheaton Conservatory of Music offers a full range of professional music majors, including composition, education, history/literature, performance, music with elective studies in an outside field, and music with an emphasis in a music-related field (such as media/film music, pedagogy, conducting, and collaborative piano). Students seeking these professional music degrees are accepted directly into the program by audition.

An on-campus program in military science leads to a commission in the U.S. Army at graduation. In addition to the majors offered, Wheaton has programs leading to teacher certification and to athletic training certification as well as programs preparing students for careers in business, health professions, law, and ministry.

Wheaton is a distinctively Christian college where faculty members and students work together, both inside and outside the classroom, to apply Christian principles and values to the needs and problems of the individual and society. The vigorous search for knowledge and wisdom in any area of human activity is based on the belief that all truth is God’s truth. The academic curriculum combines with the extensive cocurriculum of artistic, athletic, religious, service, and social activities to achieve a lively interaction of Christian faith, learning, and living. Because of the College’s strong commitment to developing effective servant/leaders for the church and society worldwide, there is a particularly strong integration of faith and learning in all degree programs.

To meet the requirements of all baccalaureate degrees, students must complete a minimum of 124 semester hours, 36 of which must be in the upper division, and have at least a C (2.0) average overall.

The major field is selected during the second semester of general education courses taken to meet competency and area requirements. Students must demonstrate competence (either by examination or by taking prescribed courses) in foreign language, mathematics, speech, and writing. All students must complete area requirements in applied health science, art, biblical studies, history, literature, music, natural science, philosophy, and social science. A student may be granted advanced placement or college credit on the basis of examination (SAT Subject Tests or AP). The number of credits granted and the level of placement are determined by the registrar and the chair of the department in which the course is taught.

The College operates on a semester academic calendar, beginning in late August and ending in early May. An eight-week summer term is also offered.

Wheaton offers ten natural science majors—applied health science, biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental studies, geology, liberal arts engineering, liberal arts nursing, mathematics, and physics—in six academic departments. The Wheaton faculty members engage the study of science authoritatively, enthusiastically, and creatively in the classrooms and laboratories and beyond the campus. They are creative and offer more than two dozen general education courses in the natural sciences as well as the majors listed above. The programming includes the use of state-of-the-art technologies and techniques on the main Wheaton campus, cutting edge geological and biological studies in a large science station in the scientifically rich area of the Black Hills of South Dakota, and marine biology studies in Belize. In 2011, Wheaton’s science departments will move into a new $80-million science and mathematics facility with expanded teaching labs and research equipment.

Wheaton College offers a variety of off-campus opportunities to enhance students’ programs of study. The Wheaton Passage program is a wilderness education experience available to new students at the College’s Honey Rock Camp in northern Wisconsin. The Human Needs and Global Resources (HNGR) Program focuses on responses to human needs from a multidisciplinary perspective. It offers a concentration of courses leading to a six-month internship overseas, followed by a seminar on campus. By participating in this program, students can earn up to 24 hours of credit. A similar program in urban studies, Wheaton in Chicago, focuses on urban issues in U.S. cities and includes a semester living in College-owned housing in urban Chicago.

Other special summer programs for credit include field study at the Wheaton College Science Station in the Black Hills of South Dakota; working with youth at Honey Rock Camp; interdisciplinary study in East Asia; the study of English literature in England; language study in France, Germany, and Spain; the Wheaton in the Holy Lands program, involving biblical and archaeological studies; the Arts in London program, which includes course work in music, theater, and art; and an international study program based in England and the Netherlands, offering courses in economics, political science, and psychology.

Wheaton is a member of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities, based in Washington, D.C. The council’s activities increase students’ learning opportunities by bringing special programs to campus and by providing off-campus study. Off-campus programs include American Studies in Washington, D.C.; the Washington Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.; the Los Angeles Film Studies Center; the Contemporary Music Center in Martha’s Vineyard; Latin American Studies in Costa Rica; Middle East Studies in Cairo; the Australia Studies Center; China Studies Program; the Scholar’s Semester in Oxford; Russia Studies Program; and Uganda Studies Program. Wheaton has also recently affiliated with the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute in Thailand. In addition, Wheaton’s membership in the Christian College Consortium allows students a semester of study at one of the other twelve consortium colleges.

Cooperative programs in social science are available at American and Drew universities, and students may participate in a European seminar conducted by Gordon College.

Recent additions to campus facilities include the Sports and Recreation Complex (2000); the Wade Center (2001), which houses the books and papers of seven British authors, including C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien; the Beamer Student Center (2004); and a jumbo-tron at McCully stadium (2007). In 2008, Wheaton’s Memorial Student Center reopened after an extensive renovation to house the J. Dennis Hastert Center for Economics, Government, and Public Policy, with classroom, research, and public discussion space geared toward the study of economics, politics, and values in business, government, and ministry.

Wheaton’s current capital campaign aims to, among other things, strengthen the sciences, stimulate the arts, and enliven the library. For the sciences, a new $80-million science and mathematics facility with expanded teaching labs and research equipment is planned to open in 2011. For the arts, an $11-million renovation of Adams Hall will add art gallery and studio space, and a $9-million renovation of Edman Chapel will further enhance this venue that is often home to concerts from world-class musicians; both of these renovations will be completed in 2009. In addition, the library will be renovated to adequately house its expansive collections.

Tuition for the 2008–09 year was $25,500; room and board for the year were $7618.

Most Wheaton College financial aid is allocated on the basis of need as demonstrated by information supplied on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the CSS Profile. Students from Alaska, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont are expected to apply for state grants or scholarships along with their application for Wheaton College aid.

Substantial student aid is available in the form of grants, loans, and work-study opportunities provided by government and College resources. The average need-based aid package for freshmen is about $17,525. The Career Development Center provides free service to help students secure part-time jobs and to help prepare for future employment.

The 193 Wheaton faculty members, of whom approximately 90 percent hold earned doctorates, come from a variety of colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. As active Christians, they are interested in the spiritual and intellectual development of their students. The faculty members’ primary commitment as educators and advisers is enriched by their considerable research, publishing, and artistic performance activities. All undergraduate courses are taught by faculty members.

To ensure a rich range of perspectives and expertise, every department at Wheaton has at least 3 full-time professors, and most have 5 to 10. The student-faculty ratio is 12:1.

Student Government ensures a student voice in institutional affairs and provides a wide range of opportunities to develop leadership abilities. Student Leadership Workshops, the apportionment of student fees, and the official representation of the student body are some of the activities under the direction of the Student Government. The College Union, an all-student organization, plans and directs cultural, social, and recreational activities.

Wheaton is a selective college that seeks to enroll students who evidence a vital Christian experience, high moral character, personal integrity, social concern, strong academic ability and motivation, and the desire to pursue Christian higher education as defined in the aims and objectives of the College. These qualities are evaluated by consideration of each applicant’s academic record, autobiographical essays, test scores, recommendations, optional interview, and participation in extracurricular activities. For students applying to the Conservatory of Music, strong consideration is given to the evaluation of the required audition.

Applicants must have a high school diploma or the equivalent and, at the time of graduation, should have completed a college-preparatory curriculum with a minimum of 18 acceptable units. Of the 18 units, 15 must be in English, foreign language, mathematics, science, and social studies. No units are granted for health, band, choir, driver’s education, or physical education, but a maximum of 3 units for vocational subjects is allowed.

Satisfactory scores on the SAT or on the ACT examination are required of all applicants to the freshman class. The middle 50 percent range of scores for those admitted is 27–31 (ACT) and 1240–1420 (SAT composite math and verbal scores).

An application packet, complete with detailed instructions and requirements, can be obtained from the Admissions Office or online. For early action (nonbinding), students seeking admission in the fall term should apply to either the College of Arts and Sciences or the Conservatory of Music by November 1. The regular action deadline is January 10; the transfer application deadline is March 1.

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