| Location: | Northeast |
| Setting: | Large Town Setting |
| Type: | Private |
| Size: | Medium (2,000 to 5,000 Undergrad) |
| Mascot: | Hawks |
| Nickname: | RWU |
Roger Williams University is a community devoted to teaching and learning, wherein students pursue both personal and intellectual growth. The University's mission is to teach students to think, reason, and communicate; to develop expertise in their chosen fields of study; to appreciate established disciplines and to investigate interdisciplinary connections; to experience study and life abroad; to value cultural diversity; to develop ethical awareness; and to preserve intellectual curiosity throughout a lifetime.
Roger Williams University, commonly abbreviated as RWU, is a private, coeducational American liberal arts university located on 120 acres in Bristol, Rhode Island, above Mt. Hope Bay. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams. The University itself, however, has no religious affiliation (indeed, it does not even have a Religion Department).
The university’s operations date to 1919, when Northeastern University opened a branch campus in the YMCA building in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1940, the YMCA Board of Directors took over the school and the YMCA Institute granted its first associate’s degrees in 1948. In 1956, the Institute received a state charter to become a two-year, degree-granting institution under the name of Roger Williams Junior College. During the 1960s, Roger Williams College began granting bachelor’s degrees. The College, needing a larger campus, purchased 80 acres of waterfront land and moved its main campus to Bristol in 1969 (RWU continues to operate a branch campus in Providence). In 1992, Roger Williams College became Roger Williams University and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006.
The university enrolls approximately 3,800 undergraduate and 850 graduate students in 36 liberal arts majors and five professional schools. It is one of the few colleges in the United States to offer an undergraduate degree directly in Marine Biology, has a well-regarded school of architecture, and is the only law school in Rhode Island. Approximately 98% of students live on campus. The current President of the university is Roy Nirschel.
The university has a weekly campus newspaper, The Hawk's Herald, which publishes approximately 20 issues per academic year, and an FM radio station, WQRI 88.3. The radio station plays everything from college alternative to hip hop. The college's 16 varsity athletic teams play at the Division III level as members of the Commonwealth Coast Conference.
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| Percent of Students International: | 1% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 71% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | Yes |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Basketball (Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conf) Baseball (Commonwealth Coast Conference) Track (Commonwealth Coast Conference) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 21,840 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 1,080 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 2,900 | 13% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 973 | 12% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 7,695 | 69% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 7,066 | 67% | |
Any Aid: |
75% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 78% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 93% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 490, Math: 500 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 580, Math: 600 |
| Application Fee: | $ 50.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Recommended |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Recommended |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Recommended |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Required |
| TOEFL: | Not Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
