Moravian College

That learning should be eye opening, heart racing, game changing and--most important--fun. When John Amos Comenius, a Moravian bishop, came up with that little theory all the way back in the 1600s, he probably didn't expect to have such a big impact. Turns out, we still agree with his philosophy. And we believe our students, like Comenius, can be a little revolutionary. They, too, can turn something seemingly small into something amazing, unimaginable, and bigger than themselves.

Welcome to your small chance--we know you're ready to turn it into a big change. Go for it. Be a little revolutionary.

Moravian College’s liberal arts education prepares each individual for a reflective life, fulfilling careers, and transformative leadership in a world of change.

Let's talk about stretching your mind. About challenging yourself. At Moravian College, you can have as much as you can handle. Choose from 50 majors and minors. Double or triple major. Or be a little revolutionary and create your own one-of-a-kind self-designed major.

Study and intern in places like Peru, Japan, Australia, and China. Work one-on-one with professors on SOAR research and Honors projects. Accelerate past first-year requirements and dive right into your passions with Add-Venture. No matter what you do, count on getting a heavy-duty liberal arts foundation. Think foreign language, quantitative reasoning, history, economic theory, global problem solving, and a whole lot more. Open minds welcome.

Undergraduate conferences, the Honors Program, and SOAR (Student Opportunities for Academic Research) allow students to delve deeply into areas of personal interest. Such programs also give students the chance to work closely on research projects with senior faculty members—an unusual opportunity at the undergraduate level.

The Honors Program at Moravian College offers Seniors of proven ability the opportunity to pursue a year-long study of special interest under the personal guidance of a faculty member who serves as the Honors Project Advisor. While Honors students usually choose a topic in their major, they may select another academic area or even a combination of areas. Honors study is invaluable preparation for graduate school and the professional world. Honors students should devote at least one-fourth of their academic activity to their projects.

The Moravian College community values cultural, ethnic and geographic diversity on our campus and look forward to assisting you with applying and transitioning to Moravian College and life in the U.S.

Your inner go-getter is itching to get out and do something. And you can. Build houses—and connections—with Habitat for Humanity. Write an article or two (or 10) for The Comenian. Find your spotlight with the theatre company. And if you don't find something that catches your eye, start your own club. Here's how. Whatever you do, don't sit still. Because we're a place for fidgeters. For the restless. For the go-out-and-do-something-ers. We want you to find a new outlook. Follow your passion. And above all, shake things up.

Choose your own path on our 85-acre campus. Service, theatre, Greek life—we've got it all, plus more. If you don't see anything that sparks your revolutionary spirit, we give you the tools and the power to make it happen. Hey, we're not going to stop you.

Moravian traces its origin to a girls' school founded in May 1742 by sixteen-year-old Countess Benigna von Zinzendorf. The young countess, on an eighteen-month visit to the Moravian settlements in the New World with her father, Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf, was following a Moravian tradition that was already old in her time.

The roots of the Moravian denomination go back to the Bohemian Protestant martyr John Hus, who died at the stake in 1415. In 1457 the denomination was formally organized under the name Unitas Fratrum, "the Unity of the Brethren." The Brethren (later called the Moravians in the New World) gave to the world the pioneer educator John Amos Comenius (1592-1670), who was one of their bishops.

Benigna von Zinzendorf's school was the first girls' boarding school in America. It gained such a distinguished reputation that George Washington, during his second term as president of the United States, personally petitioned the headmaster for the admission of two of his great-nieces. The Bethlehem Female Seminary, as the school became known, was chartered to grant baccalaureate degrees in 1863, and in 1913 became Moravian Seminary and College for Women.

A boys' school was established in Bethlehem in July 1742, and another in nearby Nazareth in 1743. These schools merged in 1759 to form Nazareth Hall, an institution which survived until 1929. In 1807 a men's college and theological seminary was established as an extension of Nazareth Hall. That institution, Moravian College and Theological Seminary, moved to Bethlehem in 1858 and was chartered to grant baccalaureate degrees in 1863, the same year as the women's college.

In 1954, after two centuries of separate development and growth, the women's and the men's institutions were combined to form a single coeducational college. Moravian Theological Seminary maintained a closely related but academically distinct identity as a graduate school of theology. As a result of the merger, Moravian College became the Lehigh Valley's first coeducational institution of higher education.