Muhlenberg College named #1 college theatre program by The Princeton Review
The theatre program at Muhlenberg College is the nation's best for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company features the school in the new 2017 edition of its flagship college guide, "The Best 381 Colleges."
Monday, August 29, 2016 09:32 PM
Photo from Muhlenberg's production of Carlo Goldoni's "Servant of Two Masters," directed by Francine Roussel, December 2015. Photo by Ken Ek.
"Muhlenberg is a place where someone can pursue theatre and chemistry, play a varsity sport and lead a volunteer organization, work individually with a professor and befriend a dining services worker," wrote one student in response to The Princeton Review’s annual survey.
The student was summing up the all-around excellence for which Muhlenberg strives, and it’s no surprise theatre was cited. For the second time in four years, The Princeton Review has named Muhlenberg’s theatre program the best in the country. The guide, which each year profiles the top 15% among all 2,500 four-year colleges in the U.S., previously awarded Muhlenberg the distinction in 2012.
Professor Beth Schachter, chair of theatre & dance, was delighted with the news. “The department seeks out students and faculty with a diverse range of backgrounds, talents and perspectives, and we create opportunities for them to collaborate in pursuit of their artistic visions,” she said. “We embrace our diversity and synergy to create a world-class production program, and our students thrive on that breadth of experience.”
“Muhlenberg College’s outstanding academics are the chief reason we chose it for this book and we strongly recommend it to applicants," said Robert Franek, publisher of The Princeton Review.
In addition to its top theatre ranking, Muhlenberg again earned distinction for campus dining. The review ranked it 16th in the country for "Best Campus Food." Other high marks for Muhlenberg's campus life rankings included a quality of life rating of 91 and a fire safety rating of 96, with both metrics measured on a 99-point scale.
The rankings for Muhlenberg and other colleges listed in this edition are entirely based on The Princeton Review's survey of 143,000 students (about 375 per campus on average) attending the colleges. The 80-question survey asks students to rate their schools on several topics and report on their campus experiences at them. Topics range from their assessments of their professors as teachers to opinions about their school's library, career services and student body's political leanings. The Princeton Review explains the basis for each ranking list at http://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/ranking-methodology.
The Princeton Review is an education services company known for its tutoring, test-prep courses, books and other student resources. Headquartered in Natick, MA, the company is an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI). It is not affiliated with Princeton University.
Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private, four-year residential, liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pa., approximately 90 miles west of New York City. With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2200 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences as well as selected pre-professional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health. A member of the Centennial Conference, Muhlenberg competes in 22 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
