Sewanee: The University of the South

Sewanee, TN · founded 1857 · 1,750 students · liberal arts college · NCAA Division III, Southern Athletic Association

Known for: Sewanee is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Episcopal Church, famous for its stunning 13,000-acre campus on the Cumberland Plateau, its rigorous academics, and its unique student-governed Honor Code.

Rankings

U.S. News liberal arts: #46

Top programmes

English
History
Biology
Theology
Environmental Studies
Political Science

Notable alumni

Jon Meacham — Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author
Tennessee Williams — Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
Howard H. Baker Jr. — Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader and White House Chief of Staff
John G. Roberts — Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
William Alexander Percy — Poet and author ('Lanterns on the Levee')
James H. Billington — Former Librarian of Congress

Traditions

Dress Parade
Honor Code signing
Sewanee Purple (student newspaper)
Gown-wearing in class
Mountain Day

If Sewanee: The University of the South were…

As a food: Benton's country ham — Aged, traditional, deeply Southern, and unapologetically itself—produced in nearby Madisonville with craft and patience, it's a delicacy that doesn't apologize for its salt or its roots, much like Sewanee's Episcopal-inf
As an athlete: Peyton Manning — Tennessee royalty with old-money pedigree, cerebral and traditional in approach, respected across the South for combining intelligence with a kind of genteel dominance. Both are institutions that make the region proud wh
As a person alive today: Jon Meacham — The Episcopal historian and presidential biographer embodies Sewanee's blend of Southern tradition, theological literacy, public intellectualism, and a belief that the past has urgent lessons for the present—all delivere
As a historical figure: William Alexander Percy — The Delta planter-poet who wrote 'Lanterns on the Levee' captures Sewanee's aristocratic Southern humanism—a world of honor codes, classical education, noblesse oblige, and a melancholic awareness that the old order is a
As a movie or TV show: Dead Poets Society — The gowns, the all-consuming campus, the intense teacher-student bonds, the tension between tradition and individual authenticity, and the sense that education here is about forming souls, not just minds—Sewanee is Welto
As a US president: James K. Polk — A Tennessee president who was disciplined, traditional, deeply principled, and committed to manifest destiny in his own way—Sewanee similarly believes in its mission with quiet intensity and expects its students to carry
As a city: Oxford, England — The gowns, the collegiate Gothic architecture, the tutorial-style intimacy, the assumption that learning happens as much over sherry as in seminars, and the sense that you're part of a centuries-old conversation—Sewanee
As an element: Silver — Traditional, lustrous, associated with church vessels and old money, resistant to corrosion but requiring occasional polishing to maintain its shine—Sewanee's Episcopal identity and classical curriculum are precious meta
As a car: 1991 Range Rover Classic — An Anglo-Episcopal institution perched on a Tennessee mountain, Sewanee blends British boarding-school tradition with rugged Appalachian trails—think tweed blazers over hiking boots. Like the Range Rover Classic, it's pe

Campus life

Campus life is deeply traditional, residential, and governed by a strong honor code. Social life revolves around campus events, outdoor activities, and a system of residential 'houses.' Greek life is prominent.