The College of the Holy Cross was founded in 1843 by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Worcester, Massachusetts. Holy Cross is a highly selective, four year, undergraduate, liberal arts institution and is ranked among the nation's leading four-year liberal arts colleges.
The College of the Holy Cross is, by tradition and choice, a Jesuit liberal arts college serving the Catholic community, American society, and the wider world. To participate in the Holy Cross's life is to accept an invitation to join in dialogue about basic human questions: What is the moral character of learning and teaching? How do we find meaning in life and history? What are our obligations to one another? What is our special responsibility to the world's poor and powerless?
As a liberal arts college, Holy Cross pursues excellence in teaching, learning, and research. All who share their lives are challenged to be open to new ideas, be patient with ambiguity and uncertainty, combine a passion for truth with respect for others' views. Informed by the presence of diverse interpretations of the human experience, Holy Cross seeks to build a community marked by freedom, mutual respect, and civility. Because the search for meaning and value is at the heart of the intellectual life, critical examination of fundamental religious and philosophical questions is integral to liberal arts education. Dialogue about these questions among people from diverse academic disciplines and religious traditions requires everyone to acknowledge differences. Dialogue also requires us to remain open to that sense of the whole, which calls us to transcend ourselves and challenges us to seek that which might constitute our shared humanity.
The faculty and staff of the Holy Cross, now primarily lay and religiously and culturally diverse, also affirm the mission of the Holy Cross as a Jesuit college. As such, the Holy Cross seeks to exemplify the Society of Jesus's longstanding dedication to the intellectual life and its commitment to the service of faith and promotion of justice. The College is dedicated to forming a community that supports all its members' intellectual growth while offering them opportunities for spiritual and moral development. Uniquely, the College must enable all who choose to do so to encounter the intellectual heritage of Catholicism, form an active worship community, and become engaged in the life and work of the contemporary church.
Since 1843, Holy Cross has sought to educate students who would live by the highest intellectual and ethical standards as leaders in business, professional, and civic life. In service of this ideal, the Holy Cross endeavors to create an environment where integrated learning is a shared responsibility pursued in classroom and laboratory, studio and theater, residence, and chapel. Shared responsibility for the life and governance of the College should lead all its members to make the best of their talents, to work together, to be sensitive to one another, to serve others, and to seek justice within and beyond the Holy Cross community.
Each Holy Cross student's curriculum consists of standard requirements (which can be fulfilled by selecting from a wide range of courses), a major, and freely elected courses. In designing their study, many students opt to combine majors and add a minor or a concentration.
A Holy Cross education is marked by a shared commitment to academic excellence, critical inquiry and reflection, and deep engagement with meaning and value questions. It is an education that balances breadth and focus, rigor, and creativity. By encouraging students to use both reason and imagination to consider and make sense of challenging topics, we foster intellectual independence, expand students' perspectives and ensure every Holy Cross graduate is prepared for a fulfilling future.
From compiling oral histories through local or global fieldwork to investigating proteins' antiviral properties and digitizing ancient manuscripts, our students pursue research that connects coursework with hands-on experiences in the laboratory and the field. Working closely with expert faculty members, they learn the latest research techniques, challenge themselves to confront complex problems, publish academic papers, present their findings at national conferences, and ultimately gain a greater understanding of our world's breadth.
Opportunities for research in every discipline are available to students both in the summer and during the academic year. While at larger institutions, it is not always possible for undergraduates to work directly with faculty members. Students and faculty collaborate to devise noteworthy research projects at Holy Cross and explore challenging topics in our labs, libraries, studios, and communities. Along the way, they learn to translate intellectual curiosity and passion into concrete research questions and hone essential skills by working with state-of-the-art lab instruments and leading-edge research methods.
At Holy Cross, everyone looks out and cares for everyone else — including the faculty and staff members who provide personal support and guidance to our students. We invest in students' happiness and success by connecting them to faculty advisors who provide one-on-one academic advice, dedicated deans associated with each class year, and other essential resources.
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