Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal-arts college located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, northwest of Philadelphia. It is one of the Seven Sisters. It has approximately 1,200 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. The name "Bryn Mawr" is Welsh for "high hill".

History

Founded in 1885, it was the first woman's institution to offer graduate degrees including the Ph.D. It was originally affiliated with the Society of Friends (Quakers), but by 1893 had become non-denominational.

In 1912, Bryn Mawr began offering the United States' first doctoral degree in social work through the Graduate Department of Social Economy and Social Research. This department became the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research in 1970.

In 1931, Bryn Mawr began accepting males as graduate students, while remaining women-only at the undergraduate level.

Organization

Bryn Mawr is a self-governed institution. Its Self-Government Association is the oldest such organization in the United States. A significant aspect of self-government is the Academic Honor System, or Honor Code.

Bryn Mawr and Haverford College form the Bi-College community. Students in the Bi-Co enjoy unlimited cross-registration privileges and may choose to major or reside at the other institution. The two institutions join with Swarthmore College to form the Tri-College community. Free shuttles are provided between the three campuses. In addition, the Tri-Co is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania through the Quaker Consortium. Bryn Mawr students in the Growth and Structure of Cities department may earn a B.A. at Bryn Mawr in conjunction with a Master of [City Planning at Penn through the 3-2 Program in City and Regional Planning.

Facilities

Bryn Mawr's library holdings are housed in the Mariam Coffin Canaday Library (opened in 1970), the Rhys Carpenter Library (opened in 1997), and the Lois and Reginald Collier Science Library (opened in 1993). TRIPOD, the online library catalog, automatically accesses holdings at Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges.

The majority of Bryn Mawr students live on campus in residence halls. The older residence halls are known for their Collegiate Gothic architecture and are named after counties in Wales: Brecon, Denbigh, Merion, Pembroke East and West and Radnor. Rhoads (North and South) was named after the College's first president, James E. Rhoads, while Rockefeller was named after its donor, John D. Rockefeller. The newest residence halls are Erdman (opened 1965, designed by architect Louis Kahn) and the Haffner Language and Culture House (opened 1971). In addition, students may choose to live in Glenmede (primarily graduate student housing), Perry House (the Black Cultural Center) or Batten House (environmentally-friendly co-op).

Academics

Students at Bryn Mawr are required to complete divisional requirements in the social sciences, natural sciences (including lab skills) and humanities. In addition, they must fulfill a two-year foreign language requirement, a quantitative skills requirement and a College Seminar requirement. The most popular majors at Bryn Mawr in the 2002-03 academic year were Biology, Economics, English, Mathematics, Political Science and Psychology.

Majors Offered

• Anthropology
• Astronomy (Haverford College)
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology
• Classical Culture and Society
• Classical Languages
• Comparative Literature
• East Asian Studies
• Economics
• English
• Fine Arts (Haverford College)
• French and French Studies
• Geology
• German and German Studies
• Greek
• Growth and Structure of Cities
• History
• History of Art
• Italian
• Latin
• Linguistics (Swarthmore College)
• Mathematics
• Music (Haverford College)
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Religion (Haverford College)
• Romance Languages
• Russian
• Sociology
• Spanish

Minors and Concentrations Offered

• Africana Studies
• Computer Science
• Creative Writing
• Dance
• Education
• Environmental Studies
• Feminist and Gender Studies
• Hebrew and Judaic Studies
• Hispanic and Hispanic-American Studies
• International Economic Relations
• Neural and Behavioral Sciences
• Peace and Conflict Studies
• Theater Studies

Traditions

Bryn Mawr's traditions are a unique aspect of campus life. The four major traditions are Parade Night, which takes place on the first night of the academic year; Lantern Night, which takes place in late October or early November; Hell Week, which takes place in mid-February; and May Day, which takes place on the Sunday after classes end in the spring semester.

College Presidents

• 1885-1894 James E. Rhoads
• 1894-1922 M. Carey Thomas
• 1922-1942 Marion Edwards Park
• 1942-1970 Katharine Elizabeth McBride
• 1970-1978 Harris L. Wofford
• 1978-1997 Mary Patterson McPherson
• 1997-present Nancy J. Vickers

Notable Alumnae

• Lee McGeorge Durrell author, television presenter, zookeeper
• Edith Hamilton (1894), Classical scholar
• Katharine Hepburn (1928), actress
• Marianne Moore (1907), poet
• Emily Cheney Neville (1939), author
• Deborah Spungen, author

External links

• Bryn Mawr College (http://www.brynmawr.edu/)
  • Bryn Mawr Libraries (http://www.brynmawr.edu/library/)
  • Bryn Mawr Residential Life (http://www.brynmawr.edu/residentiallife/)
• Bryn Mawr Traditions (http://www.blight.com/%7Escarlett/traditions/)