Deadline Oct  14

Take the train from New York City’s Grand Central Terminal,

and within three hours you’ll reach the beautiful countryside

town of Schenectady in upstate New York. This is where

Union College stands. Founded in 1795, Union College was

so named owing to its joint emphasis on the union of the

sciences and humanities. Union is the kind of place where

engineering and the arts go hand-in-hand. More than 200

years later, this unique and top-ranked liberal arts college is

still recognized for its interdisciplinary style of education.

Although Union’s charming 100-acre campus was designed

in 1813 by French architect Joseph Jacques Ramée, it today

prides itself on being a very hi-tech campus.

Union offers a liberal arts curriculum across some 21 academic

departments, as well as opportunities for interdepartmental majors and self-designed organizing theme majors. Union operates on a trimester system. All students take two core courses in the first and second year - designed to promote reading, writing, and analytical skills. They also take three interdisciplinary courses in a specific cluster and eight courses spread among social sciences, humanities, linguistic and cultural competency, quantitative and mathematical reasoning, and natural and applied science or engineering.

Undergraduate research has deep roots at Union, starting in the 20th century when a Chemistry professor began involving students in his colloid Chemistry investigations. Each year, about 50 incoming freshmen are named Union Scholars. These students actively engage on research projects in diverse fields such as engineering, digital technologies, biology, chemistry, math, astronomy and the environmental sciences, amongst others. The Leadership in Medicine program, a joint program with the Graduate College of Union University and Albany Medical College, gives students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree, a master of science in health management or business administration in health systems administration, and a medical degree, all in eight years.

Students keep busy on campus owing to a strong culture of events, including concerts, comedians performances, and diverse speakers. There is a very active Greek life on campus, with every third student joining either a frat or a sorority. Almost all students live on campus and there is a strong sense of community. Union’s unique Minerva house system is aimed at getting students and faculty members to contribute to Union’s social, residential, and intellectual life. Popular sports on campus include ice hockey, soccer, lacrosse, swimming, and ultimate frisbee. On long weekends, students are known to travel - popular road trips include Boston, Montreal, New York, and the ski slopes of nearby Vermont. By the time they graduate, about 60% of Union students would have engaged in some form of study abroad, one of the highest amongst US colleges.

Union College is ranked #11 Liberal Arts College where graduates earn the most by Forbes, and #10 Best Science Lab facilities by Princeton Review. Over the decades, Union has graduated an American President, tens of State Presidents, Nobel Prize winners, National Book Award winners, Olympic medallists, and Ivy League University Presidents, amongst a whole range of prominent citizens.