There are three academic curricular divisions (humanities, sciences and social sciences), 24 departments, 36 majors, and two master's degree programs in art history and development economics. There are 334 voting faculty members, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 7:1. As of 2012, the school has an enrollment of 2,052 undergraduate students and 54 graduate students.[4]
The academic year follows a 4–1–4 schedule of two four-course semesters plus a one-course "winter study" term in January. A summer research schedule involves about 200 students on campus completing projects with professors.
Williams College currently occupies 1st place in U.S. News & World Report's 2014 ranking of the 266 liberal arts colleges in the United States.[5] Forbes Magazine ranked Williams the best college in the United States in its 2014 publication of America's Top Colleges.[6]
Academics
Williams is a small, four-year liberal arts college[29] accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.[30]
There are three academic curricular divisions (humanities, sciences, and social sciences), 24 departments, 33 majors, and two small master's degree programs in art history and development economics. Students may also concentrate in 12 additional academic areas that are not offered as majors (e.g., environmental studies). The academic year follows a 4–1–4 schedule of two four-course semesters plus a one-course "winter study" term in January. During the winter study term, students study various courses outside of typical curriculum for 3 weeks. Students typically take this course on a pass/fail basis. Past course offerings have included: Ski patrol, Learn to Play Chess, Accounting, Inside Jury Deliberations, and Creating a Life: Shaping Your Life After Williams, among many others. Williams students often take the winter study term to study abroad or work on intensive research projects.
Williams granted 510 bachelor's degrees and 35 master's degrees in 2008.[31] The cost of tuition and fees for 2010–2011 was $52,340; 53% of students were given need-based financial aid, which averaged $46,006.[31]
Williams sponsors the Williams–Mystic program at Mystic Seaport; the Williams–Exeter Programme at Exeter College of Oxford University;[32] and Williams in Africa.
Selectivity For the Class of 2017, the acceptance rate was 16.8%, and the admitted students’ academic profile was exceptional, with average SAT scores of 731 in critical reading, 725 in math, and 734 in writing. The average super-scored ACT is a 32. Fifty-four percent of the students who submitted high school rank are projected either to be valedictorian or to graduate in the top one percent of their class. The top ten states represented are New York, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Connecticut, Texas, Pennsylvania and Maryland.[33]
Williams is classified as "most selective" by U.S. News and World Report[34] and "more selective" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.[35]