Academics

Alma College offers a liberal arts approach to undergraduate education. The transformative education received at Alma provides students with excellent opportunities for growth and development, characterized by close student-faculty relationships, small class sizes and a supportive campus environment.

Students and faculty work closely together at Alma

While at Alma, students grow to value a life of learning. Approximately one-third of students enter graduate or professional school within six months of completing their undergraduate degrees; more than 50 percent of alumni ultimately pursue a graduate degree.

Experiential Learning

A student’s education at Alma also develops through experiential learning opportunities outside the classroom. Students from all disciplines of the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences work collaboratively with a faculty member to complete undergraduate research or creative projects.

Vibrant leadership and service programs, such as the Center for Responsible Leadership, the P-Global Leadership, and service learning programs, reinforce classroom learning and promote civic engagement values by providing meaningful experiences in the local or global community.

Students in a leadership seminar at Ghost Ranch

A variety of internship, study abroad, and other off-campus study and travel opportunities are available for students interested in adding these experiences to their academic program. Our 4-4-1 academic calendar allows for a unique one-month Spring Term enabling students to focus upon a single course, creating an opportunity for in-depth study on a particular topic or for an exciting travel-based academic experience.

Academic Programs

Alma College offers 33 different majors in 21 departments, and supports 36 minors and programs, including seven pre-professional programs. Degrees awarded are Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Music.

Professor Holly Liu teaches a language class

Can’t find a major that exactly matches your passion? The College also offers an alternative to the traditional majors called a Program of Emphasis or POE, allowing students to work with a faculty committee to design an academic concentration that meets their unique interests while still requiring academic rigor.

An Alma College education provides a broad intellectual foundation to prepare students for today’s careers, as well as for careers that have not yet been created.

 

Alma College ranks second in the nation in the percentage of students who participate in alternative break service trips, according to Break Away, the national organization that supports the development of alternative break experiences that inspire lifelong active citizenship. Last year, Alma students provided flood relief, built affordable homes, planned activities for terminally ill children, constructed wheelchair ramps, worked with immigrants, and assisted in after-school programs.

 

Faculty Profile

Dr. William Palmer

Dr. William Palmer
Departments: English

Although William Palmer stuttered throughout his childhood, he developed a love for words that continues to this day.

“Stuttering was a wound in my life, but inside this wound I found a gift — the ability to write and the ability to teach writing,” the professor of English says.