The Basics

Mission: Educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service to others (we call it our Humanics philosophy)

President: Mary-Beth A. Cooper, PhD, DM

Founded: 1885

Mary-beth Cooper with students after Humanics in Action Day
Two students raking leaves during Humanics in Action Day 2016
Facts & Figures
  • 120,000+ hours of community service done by students annually
  • 40+ student organizations and clubs
  • 85 percent of students like us so much, they stay from their first to second year (compared to the national average, 81 percent at other private non-profit and public colleges)
  • 20 students is our average class size
  • 69 percent of our students graduate in four years (compared to the national average, 56 percent at other private colleges and 41 percent at public colleges)
Students enjoying lunch in the Student Union
Students
  • 2,188 undergraduate
  • 887 graduate
  • 609 non-traditional adult students at regional campuses in six states and online
  • 21 percent of traditional undergraduate students self-identify as a student of color
  • 3 percent of our traditional undergraduate population are international students
  • 34 states represented
  • 23 countries represented
  • 87 percent of students live on campus (with 96 percent of first-year students living on campus)
  • 34 percent of our students are student athletes
Campus Union
Our Campuses
Tennis player
34%
of student population are student-athletes
Springfield College women's gymnastics
26
Division III teams
11
club sports
Springfield College women's volleyball team in a huddle
NEWMAC
New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference
Men's soccer on the Irv Schmidt Sports Complex
Springfield College color scheme
School Colors: Maroon and White
Alumni Hall during a sunset
School Nickname: Pride
Springfield College mascot, Spirit the Majestic Lion
School Mascot: Spirit the Majestic Lion

Check Us Out

  • Springfield College is ranked in the Top Tier in the category of "Best Regional Universities – North Region" in the 2021 U.S.News Best College report. The College is ranked 26 in the category, marking the sixth-consecutive year Springfield College is ranked in the top 30 in the "Best Regional Universities – North Region."
  • We're also ranked 18 in the U.S.News & World Report Best Value rankings that showcase colleges with high quality at a lower cost. 
  • Our graduation rates for our student-athletes are higher than those of our peer schools, putting us at 95 percent and similar schools at 87 percent, according to research done by the NCAA. 
  • Our post-graduation survey found that 95 percent of 2019-2020 bachelor degree recipients were either employed or enrolled in graduate school. Our placement is higher than the national average for similar schools (92%) and, on average, higher than colleges and universities in New England (94%). We're pretty excited about that, and we know our graduates are, too. 
  • Springfield College Athletics finished 38th nationally in the final overall standings of the 2018-19 Division III Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, which marked the eleventh consecutive year that the Pride finished ranked in the top 10 percent of the 450 Division III athletic programs in the country.
  • We received the 2016 Presidential Award in the education category of the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This honor is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.
  • Our alumni go on to do big things. From world-renown entertainer and Make-A-Wish volunteer John Cena to inventor of the game of basketball James Naimsmith, we're proud of our graduates.

James Naismith

James Naismith invented the game of basketball at Springfield College in 1891 when he was a graduate student and instructor at the College, which was then known as the International YMCA Training School.

William G. Morgan

William G. Morgan, an 1894 graduate of Springfield College, then known as the International YMCA Training School, invented the game of volleyball in 1896 in nearby Holyoke, Mass., when he was serving as the physical director of the Holyoke YMCA.

Robert Roberts

Robert Roberts, an employee of Springfield College in 1887 while it was still known as the School for Christian Workers, was the individual who coined the phrase “body building” while authoring books on weight lifting, exercise, and bodybuilding.

David Allen Reed

David Allen Reed founded Springfield College in 1885. A Congregationalist minister who assisted evangelist and publisher Dwight Moody in religious revivals, Reed founded the tuition-free School for Christian Workers, at Winchester Square in Springfield, Mass., in 1885. The young minister was elected president and led the institution from 1885 to 1891. The school was dedicated to the training of Sunday School teachers, and included a Young Men’s Christian Association Department. Reed raised the funds to launch the school with its own building and, according to YMCA historian Howard Hopkins, “maintained it against great odds through its pioneer years.” Reed chose Robert Ross McBurney, who had strong YMCA connections, as vice president, and appointed Moody to the board.

Our Four Schools
Arts and Sciences
Physical Education, Performance and Sport Leadership
Health Sciences
Social Work and Behavioral Sciences