Agnes Scott College

What is the history of Agnes Scott College?

Agnes Scott College is a private women's college founded in Decatur, Georgia, in 1889. It began as the Decatur Female Seminary and was renamed Agnes Scott Institute in honor of Agnes Irvine Scott, the mother of early benefactor George Washington Scott. The institution adopted the name Agnes Scott College in 1906.

Its history as a women's college remains central to its undergraduate identity. Over time, it expanded from a preparatory school into a liberal arts college and added graduate study. A more recent academic development is SUMMIT, an undergraduate curriculum introduced in 2015 that integrates leadership development and global learning with degree requirements. Applicants comparing the college's historical identity with its present offerings should distinguish its women-centered undergraduate education from its graduate programs and review the current admissions policy for their applicant category.

What are the faculties and departments at Agnes Scott College?

Agnes Scott organizes undergraduate study around a liberal arts curriculum rather than a large system of separately branded colleges. Students can pursue majors across the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and arts, alongside interdisciplinary fields and selected graduate programs.

Undergraduate subjects include biology, chemistry, mathematics, psychology, economics, political science, English, history, music, theater, and public health. The college also offers business-related study. Its academic catalog is the appropriate place to check whether a subject is available as a major, minor, concentration, or graduate credential in the year a student plans to enroll.

SUMMIT connects academic work with leadership and global-learning experiences. That structure may appeal to students who want those activities built into a liberal arts education, but it also makes degree planning important: prospective students should examine major requirements, general education requirements, and the timing of any off-campus experience together. Reported staffing of 100 full-time and 34 part-time faculty members, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, describes the institution overall; it does not establish the size of every class.

What is the location of Agnes Scott College?

Agnes Scott College is in Decatur, Georgia, just east of Atlanta. Its campus sits near downtown Decatur, giving students access to local shops and services as well as the wider Atlanta metropolitan area.

Decatur's connection to MARTA rail and bus service can matter for internships, appointments, and students traveling without a car. Travel time still depends on the destination and service schedule. Students who plan to commute should assess their route and parking arrangements rather than assume that proximity to Atlanta makes every trip short. First-year students are permitted to register or park a car on campus, subject to college parking rules. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the region's principal airport for longer-distance travel.

What is the mission and vision of Agnes Scott College?

Agnes Scott describes its educational purpose as preparing women to think deeply, live honorably, and engage the intellectual and social challenges of their times. Its undergraduate approach emphasizes the liberal arts, leadership, and global learning; those are institutional aims, not guarantees of a particular outcome for every student.

The college has a historical affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Applicants can evaluate how that heritage relates to present-day academic and campus policies by consulting the college's current mission statement and student handbook. Its identity as a women's college is especially relevant to applicants deciding whether its undergraduate environment fits their preferences and eligibility.