Office
of Admissions
CPO 2220
Berea College
Berea, KY. 40404
859-985-3500
800-326-5948
admissions@berea.edu
http://www.berea.edu
COSTS:
Tuition:
$24,300
Room
and Board:
$5,750
Fees, books, misc.:
$400
Berea, Kentucky
Overview
Embracing a contemporary mission to educate
service-oriented leaders for Appalachia and beyond, Berea College dates
its founding to 1855 when ardent abolitionists established a racially
integrated one-room school that was based on the biblical maxim “God
has made of one blood all peoples of the earth.” For the next fifty
years, Berea was a monument to racial harmony and equality. Although Kentucky
law prevented integration of the student body from 1904 to 1950, Berea
College has a long and distinguished history of interracial education.
Among the African-American students who attended Berea during its early
days were Dr. Carter G. Woodson, founder of Black History Month, and Julia
Britton Hooks, a musician who taught W. C. Handy and whose grandson, Dr.
Benjamin Hooks, was the Executive Director of the NAACP for many years.
Currently, nearly 30 percent of Berea’s 1,500 students are members
of minority groups, and a large percentage of those students are African-American,
international, and dual-nationality students.
Routinely at the top of its category in national rankings of colleges, Berea was ranked the number one comprehensive college—bachelor’s in the South in 2005 by U.S. News & World Report. Among the special programs that contribute to the strength of Berea’s academic program are extensive and well-funded undergraduate research opportunties; a universal technology access program that provides a laptop computer for every student; the Berea Term Abroad program that awards a scholarship worth one half of participation costs to all eligible students; the ceramics apprenticeship program; the January Short Term; the field-study opportunities available in all departments; and a unique program in sustainability and environmental studies. In recent years, Berea students have received national scholarship awards, including several Watson Scholarships, a Truman Scholarship, and a Fulbright Scholarship. One of the most unusual features of the College is the student work program, which requires all students to work on campus a minimum of 10 hours per week. The work program not only provides a way for students to earn part of their college expenses, but also provides excellent work-learning experiences and valuable on-the-job training.
The Berea College Concert Choir, the Black Music Ensemble, and the concert, stage, and brass bands provide many performance opportunities. The Berea College Country Dancers is a popular performance group that specializes in traditional Appalachian dance and folklore. The Theatre Laboratory presents three or four major productions each year and features a theater artist-in-residence for at least one term each year. The Art Department has excellent gallery space for the exhibition of work by students, faculty members, and guest artists. Worship opportunities and Christian outreach programs are coordinated by the Campus Christian Center, and Berea students take an active role in the congregations of many local churches. Service is an important dimension of student life at Berea, and many students participate in one or more service organizations through Berea’s Center for Excellence in Learning through Service (CELTS). In recent years, several Berea students have received national recognition for their work with Students for Appalachia (SFA), a group that provides a variety of services for surrounding communities, including tutoring and adult education.
Location
and Community
Berea is a small city of approximately 10,000 located about 35 miles south
of Lexington, Kentucky, the second-largest city in the commonwealth with
a population of more than a quarter of a million. Recognized as Kentucky’s
folk arts and crafts capital, Berea is home to the new Kentucky Artisan’s
Center and is located on the edge of the Cumberland Mountains, a place
described as “where the mountains meet the bluegrass.”
Academic
Life
Berea operates on a 4-1-4 calendar. Students normally take four courses
in the four-month fall term, one course in the January term, and four
courses in the spring term. In all degree programs except nursing, a minimum
of thirty-three courses is needed to graduate; nursing requires thirty-five
courses. The courses taken must satisfy all general education, major,
and major-related requirements.
Most courses in the General Education Program have a strong emphasis on cross-disciplinary learning. Some courses are arranged in sequences, with one course establishing a foundation for the next one. Such courses are taken in the prescribed order; others may be taken at a time of the student’s choosing. Courses in the General Education Program include Stories: Encountering Others through Literature; U.S. Traditions: Texts of Freedom and Justice; Introduction to Lifetime Wellness; Introduction to the Arts; Western Traditions I and II; Seminar in World Issues Since 1945; Seminar in Christianity and Contemporary Culture; an introductory course in the natural sciences; an introductory course in the social sciences; The Arts in Context; Natural Science; and the cultural area requirement. The cultural area requirement may be met by taking two courses in a foreign language or by taking two courses from Appalachian studies, Black studies, or world cultures.
Students may be granted college credit for achieving a score of 3, 4, or 5 on Advanced Placement (AP) tests. Advanced standing in foreign language is also available to qualifying students.
Majors
Offered:
Berea College confers the degrees of Bachelor
of Arts and Bachelor of Science. Majors are available in agriculture and
natural resources, art, biology, business administration, chemistry, child
and family studies, classical languages, economics, education studies,
English, French, German, history, mathematics, music, nursing, philosophy,
physical education, physics, political science, psychology, religion,
sociology, Spanish, speech communication, technology and industrial arts,
theater, and women’s studies as well as programs in sustainability
and natural resources and African/African American studies. Berea also
provides preprofessional preparation for programs of dentistry, engineering,
law, medicine, physical therapy, and veterinary medicine.
The College offers dual-degree programs in engineering with the University of Kentucky and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. This program of study leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree from Berea College and a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from either the University of Kentucky or Washington University in St. Louis. A dual-degree program in computer science is also available through Washington University.
Facilities
and Resources
The Hutchins Library houses both the library’s collections and services
as well as the Computer Center. The library has more than 350,000 volumes
and subscribes to approximately 1,300 current periodicals. The Charles
Martin Hall Science Building features up-to-date classrooms, state-of-the-art
laboratory space, and a planetarium. The Jelkyl Drama Center offers excellent
facilities for the active theater program. The Draper Building, built
in 1938 and renovated in 2001, is the largest classroom facility on campus.
Campus
Life
Nontraditional students make up about 5 percent of Berea’s student
body.The majority of Berea’s students live on campus in sixteen
residence halls and a variety of theme houses. Berea also offers many
family housing units, including several units that accommodate single
parents and their children.
Sports
/ Varsity Athletics
Men and women participate in eight intercollegiate
sports each: both participate in basketball, cross-country, soccer, swimming,
tennis, and track; men in baseball and golf; and women in softball and
volleyball. Berea had an Olympic bobsleigh competitor at the 2002 Salt
Lake City Winter Games and has produced award-winning athletes on a regular
basis, including All-Americans in basketball, cross-country, and track
and field—most recently crowning a national champion in track. Berea
has also visited the NAIA Division II men’s national basketball
tournament, placing in the “Final Four” in 1999. About 75
percent of the men and 50 percent of the women at Berea participate in
one or more intramural sports. The Seabury Center, opened in 1995, is
a physical education, athletic, recreation, and convocation facility housing
two basketball courts, an indoor pool, racquetball courts, an indoor track,
a weight room, a wellness center, and a multipurpose events forum.
Expenses
The College awards a four-year tuition scholarship, worth approximately $24,300, to every admitted student. Room, board, and fees are $5750. Room and board cost $4748. Most students are eligible for additional financial aid, which brings the average first-year cost to about $1500. Many freshmen can pay all room and board costs through a combination of parental contributions and participation in the College’s work program.
Financial
Aid / Scholarships
All students accepted to Berea College are awarded financial aid based
on need. The College assures that each student’s need, as determined
through a needs-analysis process, is met. This is accomplished through
a combination of the student’s and family’s resources, the
College’s work program, public and private grants and scholarships,
and a College grant or loan for any remaining need.
Admission
Requirements /
Application
Admission is limited to students whose families
would have a difficult time financing a college education of Berea’s
caliber without significant assistance. Eligibility for admission from
a need standpoint is determined by Berea’s Family Resource Questionnaire
or the expected parental contribution computed from the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid. In recent years, most successful applicants to
the College have ranked in the top 20 percent of their high school class
and scored between 20 and 30 on the ACT and between 930 and 1350 on the
SAT. Preference in admission is given to students living in the Appalachian
region of the United States, but 20 percent come from other parts of the
United States and the rest of the world.
Office of Admissions
CPO 2220
Berea College
Berea, Kentucky 40404
859-985-3500
800-326-5948
admissions@berea.edu
http://www.berea.edu
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |