Fast Facts

  • Ranked among America's strongest and most selective liberal arts colleges
  • Governed by a vital Honor Code
  • Alma mater to 23 Rhodes Scholars
  • Competing in 21 sports at NCAA Division I
  • First liberal arts college to eliminate loans in financial aid packages

History: Founded in 1837 by Presbyterians

Location: Davidson, North Carolina, 19 miles north of Charlotte

Campus: 450-acre main campus; 106-acre Lake Campus

Number of Students: Typically 1700 on campus, 50 percent men, 50 percent women

Students of Color: 14 percent

International Students: 4 percent

Student Distribution: 47 states and Washington, D.C.; 33 countries

Living On Campus: 91 percent

First-year Students Returning for Sophomore Year: 95 percent

Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 10:1

Average Class Size: 15 (over 70 percent of classes with fewer than 20 students)

Faculty: 162 full time; 98 percent with highest degree, 91 percent tenured or tenure track 

Majors Offered: 20 majors, 12 minors, plus Interdisciplinary Studies

Concentrations: 12

Students Abroad:  over 70 percent of graduates with experience abroad

Courses Offered Each Year: over 850

Pre-professional programs: Pre-Med, Law, Business, Ministerial, and Management

Libraries:        E. H. Little Library, 621,839 volumes, 4,793 subscriptions
                        Martin Chemistry library, 4,700 volumes
                        Music Library, 10,000 items

Endowment: $487 million as of June 30, 2007

Special Features:  Honor Code tradition with self-scheduled and unproctored exams; campus-wide commitment to community service; self-designed interdisciplinary majors; pre-professional programs; self-instruction in 12 languages; Dean Rusk International Studies; grant-supported student-faculty collaboration; off-campus programs in 17 locations worldwide; domestic and international summer internship/study programs.

Motto:  Alenda Lux Ubi Orta Libertas.  Translated "Let Learning Be Cherished Where Liberty Has Arisen," the motto reflects Davidson's roots in early American history. There is speculation that the phrase refers to the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence that was signed into effect on May 20, 1775.