Endowed by American philanthropist Amos A. Lawrence (1786-1852), LU is an exclusive undergrad liberal arts and music university routinely ranked among the Top 200 in THE World University Rankings

Promoted 173 years ago — a year before the state of Wisconsin was promulgated — Lawrence University (LU, estb.1847) is one of America’s oldest co-ed higher education institutions. A residential liberal arts college and conservatory of music for undergrad students, LU is ranked among the world’s Top 200 higher ed institutions in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020 and #58 in the National Liberal Arts Colleges 2020 league table of US News and World Report.

Endowed by American merchant and philanthropist Amos A. Lawrence (1786-1852), the eponymous university’s main campus is sited in Appleton, Wisconsin with its second 425-acre Bjorklunden Vid Sjon campus perched on the shore of Lake Michigan, two hours northeast of Appleton. Moreover, LU’s international centre is sited in Bloomsbury, London.

LU is an exclusively undergraduate liberal arts and music university. It offers its students bachelor of arts and bachelor of music (four-year programmes) and a five-year BA/B.Mus double degree. The liberal arts menu includes 40 academic majors/minors ranging from biomedical ethics to film studies, while LU’s nationally reputed Conservatory of Music offers majors in music education, theory, composition and performance. Currently, the university has 1,500 undergraduates from 50 countries worldwide mentored by 173 faculty, on its muster rolls. Distinguished LU alumni include poet-novelist Marjorie Liu; David Mulford, former US Ambassador to India and movie actor William Dafoe.

Appleton. Sited in the mid-west state of Wisconsin overlooking the River Fox, Appleton (pop.74,000) is routinely listed among the most livable — based on quality-of-life indicators — medium-size cities of America. It offers a well-connected road transport system, an international airport, 28 public parks, the Hearthstone Historic House Museum and Performing Arts Centre, Fox Cities Baseball stadium, and hosts offices of large business corporations including Thrivent Financial, Miller Electric and McCain Foods. The city’s College Avenue is lined with a dizzying array of restaurants (from five-star to late-night pizza) and coffee shops.

Appleton has a humid continental climate. Summers are warm with the mercury rising to 32.2°C, winters are dry and windy. January is the coldest month in which the mercury could dip to -12°C and snowfall is often 4 ft. deep. Campus facilities. LU’s 84-acre campus in downtown Appleton is bifurcated by River Fox. The north campus hosts academic buildings while the southeast shore campus hosts the university’s impressive sports and athletics facilities.

Campus facilities. LU’s 173-years history is showcased in its 1853-built Main Hall listed in America’s National Register of Historic Places. The four main academic buildings feature state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories, five 100-seat lecture halls and 26 music studios. Other facilities include the Worcester Auditorium, Wriston Art Centre and Warch Campus Centre.

Moreover, the Seeley Mudd Library houses a collection of 415,000 books and periodicals, 21,000 musical scores, 20,000 audio recordings and access to electronic resources, images and digital collections.

In keeping with the tradition of America’s best universities, LU offers excellent sports infrastructure including the 3,676-seat Banta Bowl football stadium, an eight-lane perma-athletics track and baseball fields, a six-courts tennis complex, two basketball and three volleyball courts, baseball/softball batting cages, two racquetball courts, an elevated four-lane jogging track, two gyms, 2,500 sq. ft. exercise room, and an olympic-size swimming pool with a separate diving pool. Moreover, students have free access to a range of activities organised year round by the university’s 75 student clubs.

Admission. LU is a tests-optional university. International student applicants who opt not to write the standardised Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or the American College Testing (ACT), are required to submit proof of English proficiency (TOEFL or IELTS) test scores. Moreover all freshman applicants need to submit a completed application comprising teacher recommendations, secondary school report, certificate of finance and an application essay before November 1 for early action and January 15 for regular decision. Students applying to the Conservatory of Music are required to submit self-recorded works.

For further information, contact the Office of Admissions, Alice G Chapman Hall, 757 E, College Avenue, Apple-
ton, WI 54911. Ph: +1-920-832-6500; email: admissions@lawrence.edu, www.lawrence.edu.

Accommodation. LU is a wholly residential university. All students are required to live on-campus in university-owned housing. The six major student residences provide single, double, triple and quad occupancy rooms with wi-fi, computer labs, network printers, floor kitchenettes, lounge, laundry, among other facilities. Students can also choose to live in special ‘substance-free’ residences that prohibit alcohol and drugs.

Degree programmes. The university’s liberal arts undergrad college offers 32 majors and the conservatory of music three majors.

Scholastic options at Lawrence

Lawrence University offers a wide range of liberal arts undergraduate study programmes. They include:

Humanities. Chinese and Japanese, Classics, English, French and Francophone studies, German, history, philosophy, religious studies, Russian, and Spanish

Natural sciences. Biochemistry, biology, chemistry, geosciences, mathematics and computer science, and physics

Social sciences. Anthropology, economics, education studies, government, and psychology

Fine arts. Art and art history, music, and theatre arts

Interdisciplinary programmes. Biomedical ethics, cognitive science, East Asian studies, environmental, ethnic, film, gender and global studies, innovation & entrepreneurship, Latin American studies, linguistics, museum studies, neuroscience

Music studies. Bachelor of music or musical arts, five-year double degree in BA and music

Cooperative programmes. Students can study at LU for three years and then transfer to a professional school for two years to acquire professional skills in engineering, law and environmental studies etc.

Tuition & fees (annual, $)

Tuition fee: 48,822
Room: 5,448
Board: 5,271
Miscalleneous: 300
Total: 59,841
$= Rs.75

Dipta Joshi