Facts and figures

General information

  • Founded: 1832
  • Type: A highly selective, national, four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences
  • Location: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; on a beautiful 260-acre campus with over 90 buildings. Adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park. 36 miles from the state capital of Harrisburg, 55 miles from Baltimore, 80 miles from Washington, D.C., 117 miles from Philadelphia, and 212 miles from New York City.
  • 2025 Carnegie Institutional Classification: Special Focus: Arts and Sciences
  • Accreditation: Accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Academics (2024-25 Academic Year)

  • Academic programs: over 40 majors; over 40 minors
  • Student to faculty ratio: 10 to 1
  • Average class size: 18; median class size: 17. Class sizes vary by course level and by discipline. For example, 300-level classes average 15 students. First-Year Seminars average 15 students.
  • Baccalaureate degrees conferred during the 2024-25 academic year: 552 students earned a bachelor’s degree, including 138 students (25 percent of the class) who completed more than one major. In total, these 552 students completed 693 majors. The most common fields of study: Business, Organizations, & Management (15.2 percent of the graduating class, or 84/552; same denominator below), Psychology (11.6 percent, N=64), Economics and Mathematical Economics (combined, 10.1 percent, N=56), History (9.8 percent, N=54), Health Sciences (9.1 percent, N=50), Political Science (8.9 percent, N=49), Public Policy (5.6 percent, N=31), Environmental Studies (5.1 percent, N=28), English (4.5 percent, N=25), and Sociology (4.3 percent, N=24). For historical data, visit this table.

Learn more about our academic programs

Full-time faculty (2024-25 Academic Year)

  • Total number of full-time faculty: approximately 200
  • Female: 45%; male: 55%
  • 96 percent hold a doctorate or other terminal degree. All tenured and tenure-track faculty have a doctorate or other terminal degree.
  • Tenured: 71%
  • Tenured and tenure-track (combined): 85%
  • Domestic faculty of color and international faculty (combined): 25%

Participation in High-Impact Practices and experiential learning during their time at the College to build career-readiness: 2025 graduating class (by the time of graduation)

  • Completed at least one internship: 76% (2-yr average)
  • Worked with faculty on research: 60%
  • Completed at least one internship or worked with faculty on research: 87%
  • Studied abroad (for credit) for a semester or longer: 40%
  • Had on-campus employment: 72%
  • Took an Independent Study: 55%
  • Served in a campus leadership role(s) (e.g., campus organization/club officer, program coordinator): 64%
  • Participated in other High-Impact Practices and engaged in various career-building activities, e.g., capstone course/senior project/thesis, community-engaged learning/service learning, job shadowing, and networking.

63 percent of the Fall 2024 entering cohort opted in the Guided Pathways, which include various High-Impact Practices, experiential learning, and career-related opportunities.

Retention and graduation

  • First-year retention rate (Fall 2023 entering cohort): 91%
  • Six-year graduation rate (Fall 2018 entering cohort): 83%

Learn more about our retention and graduation rates

Undergraduate Admissions (Fall 2024)

  • Applicants: 8,366
  • Acceptance rate: 39%
  • Enrolled: 508

Undergraduate enrollment (full-time degree-seeking undergraduates in Fall 2024)

  • Enrollment: 2,207 (on-campus: 2,093; participating in an off-campus study program: 114)
  • Male: 50.2%; female: 49.8%
  • Domestic students of color: 21.3% (N=469)
  • International students: 14.1% (N=311)
  • Countries/Territories represented by international students: 64
  • States represented by domestic students: 40 states and the District of Columbia
  • Top five states of origin: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Connecticut
  • Among domestic students: 73 percent are out-of-state.
  • Pell Grant recipients: 23% (N=516)
  • First-generation college students: approximately 21%

Learn more about our student body

Alumni outcomes

2023 graduating class: 98 percent were employed or attending graduate school/pursuing further education within a year after graduating from Gettysburg.

Learn more about our alumni and outcomes

Teacher Certification

The College provides teacher certification opportunities. You can find out more from here.