Roger Williams University
“At Roger Williams University, the world is your campus and your experience extends far beyond the classroom and residence hall. Find out why students visit campus and say they ‘just knew’”
Bristol, RI
http://www.rwu.edu/ - [email protected]
INTRODUCTION:
Learning To Bridge The World
What will you do? At Roger Williams University, that’s the question on everyone’s mind. With more than 90 clubs and organizations, 20 varsity sports, 41 majors to choose from, 45 study abroad programs and volunteer opportunities around the state…what will your answer be?
Small class sizes, personal interaction with professors and opportunities for student/faculty research are the hallmarks of a Roger Williams University education. Students aren’t numbers at RWU, and they don’t get lost in the shuffle.
A liberal arts curriculum with education for the professions, Roger Williams University offers small class sizes and personalized attention to get you where you want to go.
Roger Williams University is an independent, coeducational liberal arts university where students learn to be global citizens. The University continues to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the Top 10 educational institutions in its class.
4 DISTINCTIONS
ENGAGED STUDENTS
From a collaboration between marine science and engineering students that created a sustainable fish farm to legal studies students manning a legal advocacy clinic for domestic violence victims, RWU’s students impact the world – every day.
For the fourth consecutive year, RWU has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll “with distinction,” along with only 126 other schools nationally.
Last year alone, RWU students performed more than 50,000 hours of community service hours around the state and beyond.
RWU welcomes its first-year students to campus through Community Connections, a massive day of volunteering that involves nearly 1,500 students, faculty and staff members. RWU also has nonprofit internships and more than 25 service learning courses that incorporate service directly into the curriculum.
In response to the earthquake in Haiti, the RWU community formed Bridge to Haiti and raised nearly $18,000 for Haitian relief efforts.
PEN Collaborative students successfully petitioned for the release of Normando Hernandez Gonzalez, who was released on July 13, 2010, after seven years in a Cuban jail.
The Summer Scholars Program at RWU offers students 10 weeks of free housing and the chance to spend the warmer months working on a faculty-sponsored research project.
RWU students are also active in the surrounding community. Architecture students have been studying the impact of introducing a commuter rail to Southeastern Massachusetts, while Education students have been in the classroom in Providence getting firsthand experience with different learning styles, language barriers and urban schools.
GREAT TEACHING
Because RWU is an undergraduate-focused institution, classes are not taught by teaching assistants or teaching fellows – ever. Faculty members are experts in their areas.
At Roger Williams University, collaborations occur across disciplines, departments and even class years all the time. Collaborations bring students and faculty members closer together, forging bonds of friendship and ultimately, making an RWU education a transdisciplinary experience.
Students at RWU are getting a taste of the new world of communications in Digital Journalism. Taught by a former CNN writer, students in the class use broadcast, print, still photographs, music and audio to create a form of internet storytelling. Check out “The Feed” on their YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/thefeedRWU.
RWU recently became the new home of the Roving Eye Film Festival, a division of the Rhode Island International Film Festival. Executive Director of RIIFF and RWU adjunct faculty member George Marshall specifically designed a new class, Curation and Film Festival Production, to produce the festival with 18 upper-level students who spent the semester planning event logistics, curating more than 200 international films and marketing the 2010 festival.
Roger Williams University faculty members were awarded a prestigious Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad grant to help bring the Egyptian and Middle Eastern/North African regional perspective and voice to the University curriculum.
RWU’s Career Center is available for all students and alumni. Advisors help with internship and externship placement, part-time jobs, resume writing and interview skills.
VIBRANT COMMUNITIES
While RWU’s first goal is to ensure all students receive a well rounded education, the University strives to create a true community on and around campus.
RWU is located on the water in Bristol, R.I., which is home to quaint restaurants, ice cream shops and cafes, and is conveniently located just 30 minutes from the beaches of Newport or the city sites of Providence. All freshmen receive bus passes free of charge. Buses pick up in front of campus and take students anywhere they want to go.
Providence is Rhody’s biggest city. With hundreds of restaurants, a live music scene, semi-pro hockey and baseball teams, WaterFire, music and outdoor festivals, a mall with an IMAX theatre and Dave & Buster’s and of course other college students, Providence is a great destination. In fact, it was recently named a must-see city.
Of course, RWU has plenty to do on campus, too. On average, RWU has 30 events a month, from athletic events and guest lectures to farmers markets and concerts – including recent performances by The Fray, Ludacris, Common and the Dropkick Murphys.
Mr. RWU is an annual tradition that raises funds and awareness for the Children’s Miracle Network and Hasbro Children’s Hospital. The male beauty pageant includes a talent competition and dance sequence. Mr. RWU is so popular that the pageant has raised more than $100,000 for its charities.
In addition to the clubs and orgs on campus – everything from Alternative Spring Break and Hollerin’ Hawks to Relay for Life and Surf Club – RWU has 20 NCAA varsity sports teams. The University’s coed sailing team has consistently been ranked in the Top 10 nationally, recently reaching as high as second place in the ICSA polls.
Take advantage of RWU’s waterfront campus. Kayaks are available in good weather for the fall, spring and summer months. Nationally ranked sailing team members offer sailing lessons during the summer months as well.
Each year the Campus Entertainment Network organizes Weeks of Welcome and Spring Weekend to celebrate the beginning and end of each academic year. Concerts, bonfires, BBQs and outdoor movies round out the weekend.
SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES
After four years of hard work, worldly travels and presentation to industry experts in every field, RWU’s students want outcomes. And they deserve them. Students complete internships and externships, go on to graduate and law school and, ultimately, find rewarding careers.
According to the university’s most recent poll of graduates, 89% of them had secured full-time positions or been accepted into graduate programs prior to Commencement day.
RWU alums have gone on to graduate school at institutions like: Harvard, Brown, MIT, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Washington University, Boston College, Boston University, New York University and the Architectural Association in London. Law school placements include Northeastern School of Law, University of Connecticut