Linfield University

A small college focused on quality undergraduate education

Linfield College is a private school in Oregon that offers more than 40 bachelor's degree and certificate programs. Most of the degree programs are offered at Linfield's main campus in McMinnville, about 50 miles southwest of Portland. Nursing students start at McMinnville and complete their bachelor's coursework at the Linfield-Good Samaritan School of Nursing in Portland. Linfield also provides online bachelor's degree courses through its Adult Degree Program. Linfield has about 1650 students and a student-faculty member ratio of 12:1, giving the campus a close-knit community. Linfield College appears consistently in rankings of top colleges. The school is on the "US News and World Report" lists of the Best Online Bachelor's Programs, Best National Liberal Arts Colleges, and Best High School Counselor Rankings. "Forbes" has recognized Linfield among its Top Private Colleges and Top 50 Colleges in the West and "The Princeton Review" rates Linfield as a Best Western College and a Green College.

Extensive bachelor's degree options at Linfield's McMinnville campus

Students at Linfield College's main campus have dozens of degree programs from which to choose. The business department offers five major fields of study -- accounting, international business, finance, marketing, and management -- each leading to a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. Business minor options are management and sport management. Linfield's department of health, human performance, and athletics prepares students for careers in physical education, athletic training, and other sports-related fields. Students may undertake a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree program in any of the department's major areas. These are athletic training and human performance, which may include a concentration in exercise science, physical education, or physical activity and fitness studies. Other BA and BS degree programs include - Sociology - Psychology - Education - Creative Writing - Computer Science - Applied Physics - Biology Communication arts, English, foreign-language study, history, studio art, and theater arts are among the Bachelor of Arts-only degree programs. Many of Linfield's major fields of study are also available as minors, although some programs are minor-only. These include: Asian studies, coaching, gender studies, literature, mathematics education, and art and visual culture.

A Portland-based program for nursing students

Linfield students seeking a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree will transfer from the McMinnville campus to Portland's Linfield-Good Samaritan School of Nursing after they complete nursing prerequisites. Linfield-Good Samaritan also accepts qualified transfer students from other universities and from community college programs. Nursing students have access to clinical experience at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, across the street from Linfield's Portland campus, as well as at other hospitals and clinics in Portland. Students also practice their new skills on campus at the 23-bed Experiential Learning Center nursing lab.

Online bachelor's degree and certificate programs

Linfield offers half a dozen of its bachelor's degree programs online: accounting, RN to BSN nursing, management, marketing, international business, and business information systems. Online minor fields of study are health administration, global health, and environmental studies. Professionals may also enroll in one of Linfield's online certificate programs for post-degree continuing education and career development. Each program consists of four to eight courses. Certificates are available in marketing, human resource management, health administration, global health, and computer information systems. The post-baccalaureate accounting certificate program is only open to students with bachelor's degrees.

A commitment to study abroad experiences

About half of Linfield's students spend some time learning abroad during their undergraduate years. Students in some majors are required to study overseas in order to graduate, but all students are encouraged to travel and learn. To that end, Linfield provides three study-abroad programs of varying lengths to accommodate different interests and degree requirements. The shortest study-abroad option is Linfield's "January Term," a four-week program that offers faculty member-led, small-group intensives on topics from art to health care. Courses and destinations change each year; previous January Term courses include "Religion and Politics in Turkey," "Health Care in Kenya," Literary Biology of the Sea of Cortez," and "Religion and Socio-political Philosophy in the Himalayas." The four-month semester abroad program is required for students majoring in anthropology, intercultural communication, and international business as well as for students minoring in Spanish, French, Chinese, German, and Japanese. Linfield has coordinated programs with universities in 16 countries, including Peking University in Beijing, the Galapagos Academic Institute for the Arts and Sciences of Ecuador, the Baobab Center in Senegal, and the Universidad de Alicante in Spain. Linfield's academic-year study abroad programs provide an immersive experience for foreign-language majors. Students majoring in Spanish, French, German, and Japanese must spend an academic year abroad as part of their degree requirements. To help students to participate in study-abroad programs, Linfield College foots the bill for each student's first study-abroad round-trip airfare from Portland International Airport.

Emphasis on faculty member and student research

Research is a top priority for Linfield faculty members and students. Over the years, 15 faculty members have won Fulbright awards to study topics from Costa Rican indigenous art to the health care systems of the Russian Far East. Students begin with research as early as the freshman year. For example, Linfield's iFocus program takes incoming students into the field with faculty members and older students to collect samples and conduct research on coastal and marine life. Professor Jeff Summers, the Dave Hansen Endowed Chair in Economics, has undertaken several research projects with students focused on the economics of college pricing, management, and student retention. Students are encouraged to pursue their own research interests and to apply for funding from the Linfield Center for the Northwest and from the Linfield Research Institute, which has been underwriting undergraduate projects since 1956. Student researchers can share their findings each May at the school's Student Scholarship Symposia, and may be able to present their results at regional and national events.

Distinguished alumni and an active former student association

Linfield College graduates have gone on to a diverse array of careers, such as international management for Nike, federal law enforcement, executive-level work with Berkshire Hathaway's real-estate operations, non-profit charity management, public education, and leadership roles in chambers of commerce. Linfield graduates have access to perks and lifelong benefits through the alumni association. These include professional networking events, regular social gatherings in major West Coast cities and in Washington, DC, and professor-led summer travel opportunities that combine culture and sightseeing.

Campus life with a tightly knit community

More than three quarters of Linfield students live in on-campus housing the entire time they're enrolled. The college runs 17 dormitories for freshmen and sophomores and offers upperclassmen on-campus apartments and, for qualified students, off-site housing close to campus. Students can choose among more than 40 clubs for social, study, and service opportunities. The Linfield Wildcats, with 19 varsity sports teams, compete against other schools in the "Ivy League of the Northwest," including Willamette and Lewis and Clark College.

Scholarship and financial aid options

Linfield College offers a large number of scholarships and grants based on academic merit, financial need, special talent in a field of study such as music, demonstrated leadership skills, and transfer or international student status. First-year students are automatically considered for three scholarships as part of the admissions process. Individual academic departments at Linfield also offer competitive, four-year scholarships for incoming freshmen. These opportunities are by invitation and require students to attend an on-campus event. Federal work-study positions are available to qualified nursing students at Linfield's Portland campus. Linfield offers four merit- and need-based scholarship programs for students in the adult degree program. One of them, the Arthur Lind Memorial Scholarship, gives preference to senior minority students with demonstrated financial need.