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Aerial view of McDaniel College campus.

About Us

We're all about personal connections. Connecting you and a team of advisors who provide support in a welcoming environment. Connecting you with mind-opening experiences in and out of the classroom. But our most important mission? Connecting you with everything you can become.

Mission & History Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Who We Are

McDaniel College is a private liberal arts college founded in 1867 as Western Maryland College. We're a community of 1,600 undergraduate and 1,400 graduate students who come from all backgrounds. We are proud to be recognized as one of the Colleges That Change Lives.

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15

students in a typical-sized class at McDaniel.

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85%

of undergraduate students live on campus.

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90%

of undergraduate students receive financial aid.

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1 of 45

designated Colleges That Change Lives.

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#6

for the nation's best tailgating at colleges and universities.

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$40,000

is the average amount of financial aid McDaniel undergraduates receive.

Nationally Ranked A Wise Investment.

McDaniel College is nationally recognized for our educational excellence and the transformative nature of our academic program, which is centered around the McDaniel Commitment.

Aerial view of McDaniel College campus athletic fields.

Our Location At Home on the Hill

Our main campus is in the town of Westminster, Maryland, about an hour from Baltimore. We call it the Hill, and it's a special place supported by a welcoming community. We also have a European campus in Budapest, Hungary. Studying abroad is big here -- more than one-third of our students take a class abroad before they graduate.

On the Hill, We Never Stop Climbing

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MCDANIEL COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN 2022-2027 Reaching New Heights

For more than 150 years, McDaniel College has been positioned at the top of the Hill in Westminster, Maryland. There are no limits to how high we can elevate our community or how expansive our future can be as an innovative liberal arts college focused on student achievement and professional success. 

With the implementation of our new five-year plan, we will change lives by inspiring students to achieve educational excellence and realize their potential within a supportive, inclusive, and diverse community.

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The McDaniel Commitment When You Commit to McDaniel, We Commit Right Back.

That means one-on-one mentoring with faculty members and staff members who care, experiences designed to prepare you for the world, and support services to help you shine. From your very first steps on the Hill, we'll make sure you stay on track for becoming the best possible you. It's our guarantee.

Who Will You Become?

What sets us apart from other colleges is our dedication to you and your future. Our students get one-on-one guidance from faculty mentors, peer mentors, advisors and experts who help them discover how to turn talents and interests into careers they can be passionate about.

JuliaLeadership

McDaniel's 10th President Dr. Julia Jasken, President

On June 1, 2021, Dr. Julia Jasken became the 10th president of McDaniel College and the second woman president in the college’s 154-year history. Over her tenure at McDaniel, Dr. Jasken has assumed increasing responsibility in administrative positions, serving the college’s executive vice president and provost immediately preceding her presidency. Her expertise spans community engagement; new academic program development; academic and campus life restructuring; student success initiatives; oversight of institutional diversity, equity and inclusion efforts; adjunct faculty union contract negotiations; and building and supporting a culture of safety compliance.

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Leadership, Faculty & Staff Our People

A college is not a campus. It's not a classroom. It's not a series of courses. A college is its people. And at McDaniel, we surround you with the very best people to inform your learning and your personal and professional development. We're proud of all the individuals who dedicate their careers to advancing our student-centered mission.

The McDaniel Honor Code

Living Lives with Integrity

The McDaniel Honor Code affirms our community's belief that successful communities and societies require the intrinsic honesty of its citizens.

It assumes that all students who choose to enroll at McDaniel College believe in and practice academic integrity, and that this integrity is central to the pursuit of knowledge. 

The Honor Code enriches the relationships between students and faculty by deepening trust. It also provides students the foundation of integrity that will be at the heart of their personal and professional lives once they leave the college.

A Community's Commitment

We believe that integrity means not only taking personal responsibility for one’s own actions, but also discouraging academic dishonesty by making it socially unacceptable behavior. Thus, as part of their Honor Code Commitment, McDaniel students report all instances of academic honor violations.