Learn with purpose.
Lead with impact.
F&M’s top-tier academics, hands-on experiences, and transformative connections will prepare you to shape the future — starting now.
Own Your Influence. Effect Real Change.
At Franklin & Marshall, we believe your college years are a launchpad for lifelong leadership. That’s why we created four distinctive fellowship programs for students who are curious, motivated, and eager to make a positive and immediate impact in the fields of climate and sustainability, creative writing, entrepreneurship, and public service. Every Fellow receives a four-year merit scholarship ($15,000 annually), deep mentorship from tenured faculty who are experts in their fields, and membership in a living-learning community focused on their specific area of intellectual and leadership development.
Learn more »Conduct Voter Opinion Research With the F&M Poll
At F&M, you’ll have the distinctive opportunity to contribute to one of the top surveys in the United States. F&M is home to the Center for Opinion Research, widely recognized as one of the nation’s foremost survey research organizations. It publishes the Franklin & Marshall College Poll—the oldest statewide public opinion poll in Pennsylvania and a trusted source for national media outlets. The Center for Opinion Research actively engages F&M students, empowering you to better understand the work behind an effective survey of voters’ opinions. You can assist with data analysis, reporting, survey question development, and more. “Being able to have this opportunity to help draft questions for a statewide poll that gets national media attention—that is an incredible opportunity that a lot of students probably would not have been able to have at other schools,” said Ethan Grabowski ’26, a government and history major.
Learn more »Conduct Voter Opinion Research With the F&M Poll
At F&M, you’ll have the distinctive opportunity to contribute to one of the top surveys in the United States. F&M is home to the Center for Opinion Research, widely recognized as one of the nation’s foremost survey research organizations. It publishes the Franklin & Marshall College Poll—the oldest statewide public opinion poll in Pennsylvania and a trusted source for national media outlets. The Center for Opinion Research actively engages F&M students, empowering you to better understand the work behind an effective survey of voters’ opinions. You can assist with data analysis, reporting, survey question development, and more. “Being able to have this opportunity to help draft questions for a statewide poll that gets national media attention—that is an incredible opportunity that a lot of students probably would not have been able to have at other schools,” said Ethan Grabowski ’26, a government and history major.
Learn more »“At F&M, I wasn’t just learning what to think—I was learning how to think.”
A Franklin & Marshall liberal arts education taught Nicolas Rios ’23 how to think critically, communicate effectively and approach problems from multiple angles. “At F&M, I wasn’t just learning what to think—I was learning how to think,” he said. “That ability to analyze, adapt and connect ideas across disciplines has been incredibly valuable in the workforce.” Rios, a business, organizations and society graduate, is now an analyst at Goldman Sachs. “In fast-paced environments like Goldman Sachs, technical skills are important, but what really sets you apart is your ability to collaborate, ask thoughtful questions, and think strategically,” Rios said. “Liberal arts graduates are often more comfortable navigating ambiguity, because we were trained to engage with complex issues and see the bigger picture.”
Read more »“This experience showed me how classroom knowledge can be used to solve real-world problems.”
To shape the world, start right where you are. Our home city of Lancaster is an integral educational partner teeming with opportunities to learn, serve, and engage with the local community. For Nancy Nguyen ’26, a double major in economics and data science, this meant turning a passion for mathematics into meaningful solutions for the Power Packs Project, a nonprofit combating food insecurity in Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties. Alongside her professor and peer, Nguyen built digital tools to better understand the cost of the meals provided. This included organizing hundreds of recipes, analyzing ingredient price trends, and designing and launching a website for better accessibility and future planning. “This experience showed me how classroom knowledge can be used to solve real-world problems,” Nguyen said.
Read more »“I felt a sense of community and shared academic passion that day that I had not felt anywhere else.”
As a high school senior, Skylar Zachian ’25 logged on to a virtual admitted students event during which Associate Professor of English Erik Anderson taught a creative writing lesson. “I could have stayed on that Zoom meeting for hours,” Zachian said. “I felt a sense of community and shared academic passion that day that I had not felt anywhere else. I could truly picture myself as an F&M student, studying English on the College’s unique creative writing track and engaging with distinguished authors at The Philadelphia Alumni Writers House.” During her time on campus, Zachian honed her craft as a writer while exploring new subjects, becoming a double major in English and film and media arts, with a minor in theatre. “I loved F&M’s focus on academic exploration and knew that I would have room to explore new interests along with writing,” she said.
Read more »Connecting Classroom Theory to Behavioral Reality in a Yale Lab
Your ideas may start in the classroom, but they won’t be contained there. Learning by doing is part of our DNA as Diplomats. Noah Katzer ’26, a psychology and government double major, exemplified the F&M tenets of exploration and discovery by interning at the Emotion Health and Psychophysiology Lab at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. “I've learned new research methods and gained insight into new subsections of psychology that have changed the way I think about achieving my goals and the type of research I want to conduct,” he said.
Read more »“The arts at F&M have been an integral part of my college experience.”
“Singing with F&M's Chamber Singers and playing piano in the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and orchestra have allowed me to foster meaningful relationships with my professors and fellow students. I love being a part of F&M's musical community and find it incredibly meaningful to be part of something that is bigger than myself. Some of my closest friends are people I met through ensembles, and a lot of my favorite college memories are from my three and a half years involved in music.” — Eleanor Metz ’27
Explore music at F&M »A Diplomat’s Deep Dive into Marine Biology
Learning by doing is part of our DNA as Diplomats. Jaeyun An ’26 dove headfirst into this philosophy, spending a semester in the turquoise waters of Turks and Caicos researching the island’s diverse marine life. “My time was spent equal parts in the classroom and in the field,” An said. “We would learn about a certain topic in class, such as species identification, and in the field exercises, we would go out to the ocean, and have a quiz identifying creatures we see while snorkeling. I saw sharks, eagle rays, turtles, dolphins, and even whales!” An plans to pursue an advanced degree in marine biology after graduating from F&M. “This experience gave me the confirmation that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” he said.
Read more »“I have a strong passion for hands-on mechanical and electrical engineering projects.”
Learning by doing is in our DNA as Diplomats. Inna Shapovalenko ’26, a computer science and physics double major from Ukraine, exemplifies F&M’s tenets of exploration by moving from theory to purpose-driven action. As a summer intern at the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC), Shapovalenko assembled two versions of NASA STELLA spectrometers. She later developed an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV)—a “drone for exploring the ocean”—while interning for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Most recently, she collaborated with fellow Diplomats in a Human-Robot Interaction course to code a robot that leads campus visitors through a playful quiz about the College. “I have a strong passion for hands-on mechanical and electrical engineering projects,” she said.
Read more »“The vivarium is this beautiful gem in the crown that is F&M.”
At F&M, you’ll step beyond the classroom and into the vivarium. The campus vivarium is a non-invasive behavioral research facility that houses a variety of rodents, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates and nonhuman primates (capuchin monkeys). F&M is one of the only institutions in the country offering undergraduate students direct access to onsite nonhuman primates through an established program built around training, enrichment and animal caretaking. “The vivarium is this beautiful gem in the crown that is F&M,” said Lillian Basom ’08, Director of Operations, College Vivarium. “There are very few facilities that offer undergraduate students that kind of hands-on, experiential learning right from the moment they step on campus. The facility and our programming, which supports up to 80 students a semester, wouldn't exist without the commitment of our incredible students.”
Read more »How We Do It
World-Ready Leaders
We prepare you to be world-ready, equipping you with the skills to excel in not just one career, but many. You’ll become a purpose-driven leader committed to shaping a better world.
Learning by Doing
We ensure you learn with purpose through hands-on experiences. You’ll discover Lancaster is the ideal place to practice, participate, and contribute to a thriving community that’s a microcosm of the world.
Creative Collisions
With a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio, we offer unparalleled access to faculty who are leading experts in their fields. You’ll experience creative collisions that spark transformative connections within a community devoted to your success.
Our Commitment to Affordability
We are committed to making an F&M education accessible for all admitted students. That’s why we launched the Commonwealth Commitment this year. Through this bold initiative:
- Pennsylvania residents with household incomes below $75,000 attend F&M tuition-free.
- Those earning between $75,000 and $150,000 pay no more than in-state tuition at Penn State University.
Learn more about our need-based aid, which supports 65% of all enrolled F&M students, including international students.
Where Liberal Arts Meets AI
At F&M, we frame AI as a tool for inquiry, teaching you to navigate its complexities with an ethical and responsible lens. As you explore the technology’s potential, you will become technically proficient while sharpening the high-level critical thinking, ethical judgment, and creative problem-solving skills that are more important than ever. This is the F&M advantage: mastering the tools of the future while cultivating the timeless humanist perspectives that will set you apart.
February 26, 2026 While his uncle was among thousands chosen to carry the Olympic torch to the Milano Cortina Winter Games, Davide Lionetti was in the classroom, enlightening his students about processes of inorganic chemistry February 24, 2026 We asked Franklin & Marshall students: What defines leadership? The breadth of answers demonstrates the College’s endless opportunities to learn and lead. February 24, 2026 A transformational gift of $1 million from Brett Harwood ’71 will support F&M’s vibrant Jewish life programming, foster campus dialogue, fund a faculty position and boost the College’s student retention efforts. The Latest from F&M
Carrying a Torch for Inorganic Chemistry
What Does Leadership Mean to F&M Students?
Brett Harwood ’71 Makes $1 Million Gift to Support Jewish Life, Student Experience
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Ken Mehlman ’88 Makes Historic $7.5 Million Gift to Power F&M Athletics and Wellness
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#7 Best Small College in Northeast (Wall Street Journal) #35 National Liberal Arts Colleges (U.S. News & World Report) 100% Demonstrated Financial Need Met for All Enrolled Students Top 50 Best Value College (U.S. News & Princeton Review) 92% Employed or in Graduate School Within Six Months of Graduation (Class of 2025) $76,124 Early Career Median Salary (U.S. Dept. of Education) #24 Most Accessible Professors (Princeton Review) #33 Best Undergraduate Teaching (U.S. News & World Report) F&M's extraordinary home city is an urban oasis. Lancaster, PA offers arts, culture,
and experiences for every taste and preference and is full of extraordinary opportunities
— all within safe walking distance of campus.Notable Rankings & Outcomes
Our Home: The City of Lancaster