Middlebury College

What is the history of Middlebury College?

Middlebury College was founded in 1800 in Middlebury, Vermont. Its early history as a small liberal arts college helps explain its present emphasis on undergraduate study, broad academic exploration, and close contact with faculty.

Several milestones shaped the institution. Alexander Twilight, who graduated in 1823, is widely recognized as the first African American to earn a bachelor's degree from a U.S. college. May Belle Chellis became Middlebury's first woman graduate in 1886. The college established its first summer Language School in 1915; language study and international education remain prominent parts of its academic identity.

Middlebury later expanded beyond its Vermont undergraduate campus. The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, in California, became part of Middlebury in 2010. Applicants should distinguish the college's undergraduate programs in Vermont from the institute's graduate programs and Middlebury's summer schools.

What are the faculties and departments at Middlebury College?

Middlebury organizes its Vermont undergraduate education around a liberal arts curriculum rather than separate undergraduate professional schools. Students can pursue majors across the humanities, languages, social sciences, natural sciences, mathematics, arts, and interdisciplinary fields.

Representative areas include computer science, economics, environmental studies, biology, international and global studies, English, history, studio art, and numerous languages. Students also complete distribution and other degree requirements outside their major. Middlebury's academic calendar includes a January term, allowing a focused course or another approved academic activity between the fall and spring semesters.

The college also operates summer Language Schools and the Bread Loaf School of English, while the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey offers graduate education. Those programs have distinct calendars, admissions processes, and costs; an undergraduate admission offer is not admission to them. Middlebury reports an eight-to-one student-to-faculty ratio, an institutional measure that does not mean every class has eight students.

What is the location of Middlebury College?

Middlebury College's undergraduate campus is in Middlebury, a small town in western Vermont. Its setting offers ready access to the surrounding community and outdoor recreation, but it is not an urban campus with extensive local transit.

Students considering travel or internships should account for transportation time. Burlington International Airport is the nearest major commercial airport, and reaching it generally requires a car, arranged ride, or connecting ground transportation. Middlebury also has programs elsewhere, including graduate study in Monterey, California; those locations should not be confused with the Vermont undergraduate campus.

What is the mission and vision of Middlebury College?

Middlebury describes its educational purpose in terms of rigorous liberal arts study, engagement with the wider world, and preparation to address complex issues. Language learning, environmental inquiry, and international perspectives are recurring priorities in its institutional statements and programs.

Those are stated aims, not measurable promises about an individual student's experience. For applicants, their practical expression is the combination of a broad undergraduate curriculum, substantial language offerings, and opportunities to study outside Vermont. Middlebury is a private, nonsectarian college.