Willamette University | overview

At Willamette University, talented faculty members inspire students to examine issues critically, think creatively and act effectively. Through our collaborative community and Pacific Northwest connections, we challenge students to transform knowledge into action — the foundation of a successful career and a meaningful life.

Our motto, “Not unto ourselves alone are we born,” inspires students, alumni and faculty to help each other, our communities and our world.

To prepare students to achieve such goals, Willamette offers 40 undergraduate majors and programs, as well as graduate degrees through the College of Law and Atkinson Graduate School of Management.

On our beautiful and historic campus, some 1,750 students discover it’s easy to forge friendships, find mentors, have fun and make a difference. More than 100 student organizations offer diverse cocurricular activities, while students live out our commitment to civic engagement through numerous service projects.

The Colleges That Change Lives guide recognizes Willamette as one of 40 schools where students experience rich intellectual and personal growth, thanks to dedicated professors and lively, diverse experiences in and out of the classroom. In a record unmatched by any other West Coast school, Willamette faculty members have been named Oregon’s Professor of the Year 11 times since 1990.

Beyond classrooms, professors and students work together in the academic hearths, where faculty offices line the spaces designed for studying, discussion and informal get togethers. In addition, some 40 percent of undergraduates conduct research with faculty mentors, thanks to $13 million in grants that Willamette has secured over the past ten years to support such endeavors.

Other opportunities for learning and growth come via the Oregon State Capitol, which is located just across the street and acts as Willamette’s extended classroom. Students undertake internships with policymakers, conduct primary source research in the Oregon State Archives or work with the state’s experts.

Willamette’s 305 acre outdoor laboratory at Zena offers students another unique space to perform scientific research with faculty and find inspiration for their music and art. And, as our campus is colocated with Tokyo International University of America, students explore international culture and develop a global perspective.

Willamette’s location in the Pacific Northwest also shapes our community, work and ethos. Nearby forests, rivers, mountains and oceans spur our commitment to the environment, while being situated in Oregon’s capital, Salem, and only an hour from Portland, means we enjoy a relaxed, creative and civic-minded culture, as well as vibrant arts and music scenes.

For all these reasons, publications such as Fiske Guide to Colleges, U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges, the Princeton Review, Bloomberg Businessweek and National Jurist list Willamette regularly among the best universities in the country.

Our impressive students and alumni also rise to the top. During the past decade, Willamette students and young alumni have earned more than 110 of the country’s most competitive grants and fellowships. Our alumni include a Nobel Prize winning economist, corporate presidents and CEOs, top scholars, nationally recognized artists, 15 Oregon Supreme Court justices and numerous Fulbright Grant winners.