Photo: Jack Boucher (HABS) (Public Domain)
School data & stats
Outcomes
Cost
Community
Overview
Earlham College is a Quaker-affiliated liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana, near the Ohio border. Its Religious Society of Friends heritage shows up directly in how the college governs itself; community decisions are made by consensus rather than simple majority vote in many campus settings, and faculty are commonly addressed by first name, reflecting the Quaker emphasis on equality over hierarchy. The college is small, residential, and self-consciously values-driven, drawing students specifically interested in that kind of community as much as academic reputation.
Academics
Earlham has an unusually strong record of sending graduates on to PhD programs relative to its size, a pattern that shows up consistently across national data on undergraduate origins of doctoral recipients. International programs, peace and global studies, and biology are among its most established strengths, and the sciences generally punch above the college's size in research output and graduate-school placement. The EPIC Advantage guarantees funding for every student to complete a research project, internship, or similar experiential opportunity before graduating, a genuine structural commitment that most students actually use rather than a marketing claim.
Campus & student life
Consensus-based governance extends into student life through structures like an active student senate and various community committees, giving students real practice in the kind of deliberative process the Quaker tradition emphasizes. The small city of Richmond is a modest setting rather than a draw in itself, and campus life is correspondingly self-contained, built around clubs, activism, and the tight residential community rather than an off-campus social scene.
Getting in
Admission is holistic and values genuine interest in Earlham's Quaker-influenced community model; essays that show engagement with ideas like consensus decision-making, social justice, or international perspective tend to resonate with the college's stated values more than at a typical liberal arts college.
After graduation
Earlham's PhD production rate feeds directly into its reputation among graduate programs, particularly in the sciences and social sciences, and alumni in academia and international NGOs form a recognizable strand of its network, alongside a smaller but real contingent in Quaker-affiliated and peace-related organizations.
Worth knowing
The consensus-based governance model is not symbolic; students who attend Earlham actually participate in it, and it takes some adjustment for students used to more conventional, hierarchical campus structures. EPIC Advantage funding is worth understanding in detail during a campus visit, since it is one of the more concrete financial commitments among peer liberal arts colleges.
Admissions
Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)
Applying
earlham.edu ↗High school coursework
Recommended4 credits of English · 3 credits of Mathematics · 2 credits of Social Sciences · 2 credits of Science · 2 credits of World Languages · Studio or performing arts (desirable)
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