| Location: | Midwest |
| Setting: | Small Town Setting |
| Type: | Private |
| Affiliation: | Mennonite Church |
| Size: | Small (Under 2,000 Undergrad) |
| Mascot: | Beavers |
Bluffton University is a liberal arts university in northwestern Ohio founded in 1899 by regional leaders of the General Conference Mennonite Church and is today affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. Shaped by the historic peace church tradition and nourished by a desire for excellence in all phases of its programs, Bluffton University seeks to prepare students of all backgrounds for life as well as vocation, for responsible citizenship, for service to all peoples and ultimately for the purposes of God's universal kingdom.
< CollapseBluffton University, located in Bluffton, Ohio, United States, is a Christian liberal arts college affiliated with Mennonite Church USA.
It was founded in 1899 as Central Mennonite College and became Bluffton College in 1913. The name Bluffton University was adopted in 2004.
Bluffton "seeks to prepare students of all backgrounds for life as well as vocation, for responsible citizenship, for service to all peoples and ultimately for the purposes of God’s universal kingdom."
Bluffton offers 39 undergraduate majors organized in 13 academic departments. It also offers three graduate degrees: Master of Business Administration, Master of Arts in Organizational Management, and Master of Arts in Education.
Students at Bluffton are not proctored during exams. Instead, students are on their honor not to cheat and to report any students who do to the instructor. Students are expected to write the honor pledge ( “I am unaware of any aid having been given or received during this examination") on their exams and sign their names.
The honor system was created in 1918 by chemistry professor H.W. Berky, who borrowed the idea from his undergraduate education at Princeton University.
The spirit of the honor system is supposed to pervade every area of campus life.
Bluffton University was founded (as Central Mennonite College) by the General Conference Mennonite Church and became affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA when it was created in 2002 by a merger between the GCMC and the Mennonite Church. It has been a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities since 1991.
The Mennonite church is an Anabaptist denomination committed to nonviolence, social justice and voluntary service.
Bluffton has been open to non-Mennonites since its founding and members of the denomination now make up a minority of students.
Historian Perry Bush, in his centennial history of the college, argues that Bluffton's distinctive religious orientation has been to avoid both secularization and generic American evangelicalism. While many other denominational colleges adopted the latter, Bluffton leaders "refused to separate Mennonite ethical principles from the doctrines they held in common with other evangelicals. They refused to treat peace and service as if they were add-ons, 'nonessentials,' extra-chrome options. Christ's theological and ethical teachings were all of one piece, Mennonites have insisted, and a proper Christian college would be built on the firm integration of the two."
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| Percent of Students International: | 1% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 72% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | Yes |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Football (Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) Basketball (Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) Baseball (Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) Track (Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 19,028 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 400 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 2,984 | 33% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 1,640 | 83% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 8,699 | 98% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 4,099 | 93% | |
Any Aid: |
100% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 71% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 20% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 490, Math: 480 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 590, Math: 560 |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 78% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 19, Verbal: 18, Math: 18 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 24, Verbal: 25, Math: 24 |
| Application Fee: | $ 20.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Required |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Required |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
