We’re continuing our series on understanding the world of college this week by exploring faith-based colleges and universities, and institutions for students with special needs.

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1. Faith-Based Colleges and Universities

Faith-based, or religious, colleges and universities are a broader category than you might think. They range from hundreds of small Bible colleges, which are dedicated to religious life and religion study, to very large universities that offer all fields of study, though with an underlying religious or moral or service-to-others orientation, like the University of Notre Dame. In addition, of course, are theological seminaries, which are designed mainly for individuals wishing to become ministers and are typically graduate schools.

Some faith-based institutions require more theology or religion or Bible study than others. Some require students to attend chapel services; some do not. Consequently, students who are not of the same faith as the college’s founding church will be more or less comfortable attending them. Interestingly, many colleges and universities have actually been founded by religious denominations, some of which retain their denomination affiliation and some of which do not.

Some faith-based institutions are Catholic, some Jewish, and some Protestant (including African Methodist Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, and more). Perhaps the two best-known Jewish universities in the U.S. are here in the Northeast: Yeshiva University in New York City, which combines an academic and religious education, and Brandeis University located outside Boston, which is a nonsectarian Jewish-supported institution.

The world of some 200 Catholic colleges and universities in the U.S. is complicated by the fact that they have been founded by various orders (like the Jesuits, Dominicans, Lasallians, and Franciscans) and by other groups within the Catholic community. Well-known and respected Catholic institutions include University of Notre Dame, Georgetown University, Boston College, Fordham University here in New York City, Villanova University, and the College of the Holy Cross and some that do not sound as though they are Catholic, like the University of Dallas, Manhattan College, Saint Louis University, Santa Clara University, and the University of San Diego.

The list of colleges affiliated with or founded by Protestant denominations is very, very long. If you are interested, you can easily find them online by looking up “Methodist colleges,” “Presbyterian colleges,” and so on. Some are associated with a denomination mainly through historical traditions, and others are more actively affiliated today. To find out how influential religion is in everyday life at a college, you will need to read about the college’s academic offerings and student life online or better still, call and ask. For example, Baylor University describes itself online as “a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution,” which was “chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers.” On the other hand, American University, Southern Methodist University, and Duke University had early Methodist affiliations, but they are not considered faith-based today.

2. Colleges and Universities for Students with Special Needs

While students with special needs can succeed at a wide variety of colleges and universities and while there are colleges and universities that have special programs for those students, there are also some that are dedicated to serving students with special needs.

Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., was established as a college by an Act of Congress in 1864 to serve deaf and hard-of-hearing students. It was then and still is the world’s only such institution. The President of the United States signed the first diplomas of graduates in 1869, a tradition that continues to this day. Interestingly, up to 5 percent of the seats in each incoming class are open to hearing students. Gallaudet’s more than 1,700 students are pursuing both undergraduate and graduate degrees in what Gallaudet itself describes as a “bilingual, diverse, multicultural institution.” As an added bonus, its tuition is remarkably reasonable at about $14,000 a year because it is actually a public college.

In upstate New York at the Rochester Institute of Technology, students can find the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, one of nine colleges of RIT. Established by an Act of Congress in 1965, NTID is the world’s first and largest technological college for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. NTID offers career-oriented associate’s degrees in technical fields and associate’s degrees that lead directly into bachelor’s degrees study at RIT’s other colleges. It also offers the support services that deaf and hard-of-hearing students would need to study in the other RIT colleges. Because it is a public college, even though it is within a private university, the tuition is quite reasonable.

Let’s look at Landmark College in Vermont, founded in 1985 to help students with dyslexia succeed in college. Offering several associate’s degrees and a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, Landmark now serves a variety of students who learn differently—that is, students with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The College provides an impressive array of academic and personal support services to help Landmark students cope with college courses and college life. Summer programs are also available to rising high school juniors and seniors who learn differently and could benefit from Landmark’s approach.

Listen to the podcast to find out about…

• Why people think a Jesuit education is so great
• What to do for your child with special needs before he or she leaves high school
• The job of student support services personnel at colleges and universities

Check out these higher education institutions we mention…

In New York State

• The Ailey School
• Columbia University
• Fordham University
• Manhattan College
• Molloy College
• National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• Yeshiva University

Outside of New York State

• American University in Washington, D.C.
• Baylor University in Texas
• Boston College in Massachusetts
• Brandeis University in Massachusetts
• College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts
• Duke University in North Carolina
• Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
• Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
• Landmark College in Vermont
• Saint Louis University in Missouri
• Santa Clara University in California
• Southern Methodist University in Texas
• University of Dallas in Texas
• University of Notre Dame in Indiana
• University of San Diego in California
• Villanova University in Pennsylvania

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