The College

This is an archived copy of the 2020-2021 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.wofford.edu.

Mission

Wofford’s mission is to provide superior liberal arts education that prepares its students for extraordinary and positive contributions to society. The focus of Wofford’s mission is upon fostering commitment to excellence in character, performance, leadership, service to others, and life-long learning.

Adopted by the Board of Trustees, May 5, 1998

Accreditation

Wofford College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Wofford College.

Degrees

The college grants the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science, and also confers appropriate honorary degrees.

Phi Beta Kappa

Phi Beta Kappa is America’s oldest and most widely recognized collegiate honor society. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary. As of 2016, there were 286 chapters at the strongest and best-respected colleges and universities in the country. Each chapter may elect about 10 percent of the eligible students in each graduating class.

Since 1941, Wofford has served as the host institution for Beta chapter of South Carolina by demonstrating that the liberal arts and sciences— the traditional core of higher learning— are at the center of its educational program. By attending a Phi Beta Kappa college and being elected to membership in the society, Wofford men and women become associated with a group that fosters freedom of inquiry and expression, disciplinary rigor in learning, breadth of perspective, diversity of opinion, and the application of the skills of deliberation in the pursuit of a more just and peaceful world. With about 600,000 living members, the society offers ample opportunities for networking with other Phi Beta Kappa key holders in the United States and abroad.

The Academic Program

The academic program, the primary means by which Wofford College seeks to realize its purpose, is based upon a liberal arts curriculum that provides an academic experience focused on developing abilities that enable students to possess lives of service, success and fulfillment.  A liberal arts education emphasizes general knowledge and intellectual skills.  It acquaints students with the best of human cultural heritage and develops their abilities to think, learn, communicate, judge, adapt, and solve problems.  A liberal arts education promotes character and mature ethical choices. 

Athletics

Wofford College is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, with Division I FCS football, and of the Southern Conference. It conforms to the rules and requirements of both organizations. Wofford fields men’s intercollegiate teams in football, basketball, baseball, outdoor track, indoor track, cross country, golf, riflery, soccer, and tennis; and women’s teams in basketball, cross country, golf, indoor track, lacrosse, outdoor track, riflery, soccer, tennis and volleyball.