Franklin & Marshall College

Lancaster, PA · founded 1787 · 2,400 students · liberal arts college · NCAA Division III, Centennial Conference

Known for: Franklin & Marshall is a prestigious liberal arts college known for its strong programs in the sciences, business, and public policy, as well as its diverse student body and historic ties to Benjamin Franklin.

Rankings

U.S. News liberal arts: #43
Forbes: #107

Top programmes

Biology
Business, Organizations & Society
Government
Psychology
Chemistry
Public Policy

Notable alumni

James Buchanan — 15th President of the United States
Roy Scheider — Academy Award-nominated actor ('Jaws')
John Updike — Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Mary Schapiro — Former Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Ken Mehlman — Former Chairman of the Republican National Committee
John A. Boehner — Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Laurie Anderson — Avant-garde artist and musician

Traditions

Diplomat Ball
F&M Prides (student organizations)
Common Hour (weekly campus-wide assembly)
The Reporter (student newspaper, one of oldest in U.S.)

If Franklin & Marshall College were…

As a food: Shoofly pie — Pennsylvania Dutch roots, sweet but substantive, unpretentious regional identity with surprising depth. F&M is grounded in Lancaster's quirky local culture while serving up serious intellectual and professional preparati
As an athlete: Megan Rapinoe — Politically outspoken, elite performer, unapologetically progressive, and respected for both skill and advocacy. F&M students are the Rapinoes of liberal arts colleges—they'll ace organic chemistry and organize a protest
As a person alive today: Pete Buttigieg — Rhodes Scholar credentials, politically engaged, intellectually rigorous, policy-wonk energy, and comfortable in both elite circles and Main Street conversations. F&M cultivates that same blend of academic excellence and
As a historical figure: Benjamin Franklin — Literally the namesake, but also the perfect match—pragmatic intellectual, civic-minded, believed in useful knowledge and public service, and comfortable bridging different worlds. F&M embodies Franklin's ethos of applie
As a movie or TV show: The West Wing — Smart people talking fast about policy, idealistic but pragmatic, diverse perspectives clashing productively, and an underlying belief that government and institutions can be forces for good. F&M students live and breath
As a US president: Barack Obama — Intellectually serious, politically engaged, diverse coalition-builder, progressive values with pragmatic implementation, and comfortable in academic settings while focused on real-world impact. F&M produces the Obama st
As a city: Portland, Oregon — Progressive, politically engaged, quirky local culture, diverse population, punches above its weight in cultural influence, and sometimes exhaustingly earnest about social justice. Both places are where activists go to b
As an element: Nitrogen — Essential for growth, reactive and forms compounds readily, abundant but often overlooked, and critical to biological processes. F&M students are the nitrogen of elite education—catalyzing change, forming networks everyw
As a car: 2018 Subaru Outback — Practical, intellectually curious, and surprisingly progressive for its Pennsylvania roots—built for students who hike to protests and intern at think tanks. F&M balances liberal arts rigor with career prep in a genuinel

Campus life

Campus life is active and intellectual, with a strong focus on debate, politics, and student-run organizations. The college is located near a small city, offering a blend of campus community and urban access. Housing is guaranteed all four years.