Program areas at Vassar College
Instruction - Vassar fosters intellectual openness and lively exploration through its varied course offerings which includes 30 departments, 3 interdepartmental programs, 14 multidisciplinary programs, and 50 majors offering over 1,000 courses. Students are encouraged to develop diverse perspectives through engaging in dialogue with faculty and fellow students, working on closely mentored independent research and creative projects, and participating in various forms of community-engaged learning, all of which enable them to achieve the insight and confidence needed to function most effectively in today's complex world. The College admits students in early and regular decision without consideration for the student's ability to pay then meets the full demonstrated need of the student for all four years of their education.
Student Services - As a residential college, Vassar is committed to providing support services to help students make the most of their time at Vassar. The division of the Dean of the College provides and coordinates services that improve the quality of academic and co-curricular student life. These services include a robust residential life program, which includes faculty and staff delivering programming to enhance the on-campus student experience. This also includes medical and mental health services to help students maintain their holistic well-being through graduation as well as career education services, which help students plan for their post-graduation career. These services contribute to the high graduation and retention rates and also contribute to high job and graduate school placement rates. Over 90% of students are employed, enrolled in graduate school, or receive a competitive fellowship within 6-months of graduation.
Academic Services - The College provides significant academic support services to enhance and strengthen students' educational experiences and outcomes. This includes faculty advising from new student orientation through graduation, a library with more than a million books and access to thousands of online journals, an art museum that supports education through the preservation, documentation, interpretation, presentation, and development of its collections; a robust international programs office that supports students' global education, as well as many other support resources that improve student outcomes. These robust academic support services contribute to Vassar's overall four-year graduation rate of almost 90% and 6-year graduation rate that often exceeds 90%. Approximately 20% of Vassar's students are Pell recipients with similar graduation rates.
Other program services include research expenditures, general program overhead costs, and auxiliary enterprise revenue and expenditures.