Union College

Union College is located in Schenectady, New York.  Schenectady is a picturesque town with many restaurants and shops. It is located within three hours of New York City, Boston and Montreal, Canada.  It was founded in 1795 and is the oldest college in New York.

The total enrollment is 2202.  The total International enrollment is 7% of the Union College student population.

Union College was the first liberal arts college to offer an engineering degree.  The college offers 42 Majors and 51 minors.  The  5 most popular majors are: Psychology, Economics, Biology, History and Mechanical engineering.

Union College has joint programmes within Union University.  They are:
Business Management (B.A., B.S. and M.B.A. 5 year programme with Union Graduate College)
Education (B.A., B.S. and M.A.T. 5 year programme with Union Graduate College)
Law and Public Policy (B.A. and J.D. with Albany Law School)
Leadership in Medicine (B.S., M.S. or M.B.A., & M.D. with Union Graduate College and Albany Medical College)
Master in Science ((B.S. &  M.S. with Union Graduate College)

Admission requirements
Common Application and Union College Common Application supplement.
SAT/ACT - Union College is test optional though it is highly recommended for international students to submit SAT/ACT scores.

The acceptance rate at Union College is 37% and the student to faculty ratio is 10:1.

Union College faculty has done important experimental work in interdepartmental studies, reflected in a number of programs that cut across academic disciplines.Organized interdepartmental majors are now offered in numerous areas along with programs that enable students to work toward both a bachelor's degree and an advanced degree.

Common Curriculum
The Common Curriculum embodies Union’s commitment to build intellectual foundations, explore the Liberal Arts, and create dynamic connections across boundaries as the individual discovers new interests and contributes to humanity.

The Minerva program
A unique feature of Union College is it's Minerva programme. The Minerva House system is an academic, social and cultural intersect.  In the Minerva programme, all staff and students are assigned to one of 7 Minerva Houses. Freshman are likely to take their First-Year Preceptorial in their assigned house and live in the same residence as other members of their Minerva. They'll also get to know the faculty assigned to their house.

• Each house has its own student-run governing council and a generous budget for academic and social events.
• The majority of events are open to members of all houses, but students generally are most involved in their assigned houses.
• The top floors of the houses provide living space for sophomores, juniors and seniors.
• All houses feature great rooms, seminar rooms and full kitchens for use by house members.

Community based activity is taken very seriously at Union, both locally and globally. Union has been named to the Higher Education Community Service President's Honor roll with Distinction for exemplary service to the local community.

Study Aboard
60% of the Union College student population participate in Study Abroad.  The International Programs Office helps students to plan and prepare for overseas studies.

Financial aid is available to international students.  The average amount of the award is $31,936.
Merit scholarships of $10,000 per year are available to international students.


Athletics
Union College is a Division III school and is in the Liberty League. 

Notable Alumni

• Rawson Marshall Thurber '97: Filmmaker and TV producer (Dodgeball, Magnum P.I.)
• Nikki Stone, '95: Olympic gold medalist (freestyle aerial ski jumping) at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan
• Dylan Ratigan '94: Anchor and co-creator of CNBC's Fast Money
• Kathy Magliato '85: Renowned cardiothoracic transplant surgeon
• Sue Goldie '84: Public health researcher and recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant
• Ilene Landress '83: Executive producer, The Sopranos
• Richard Templeton '80: CEO, Texas Instruments