Muhlenberg College: A Vibrant Liberal Arts Education in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Muhlenberg College, a private liberal arts college, is located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded in 1848 as the Allentown Seminary by Samuel K. Brobst, a Reformed Lutheran minister, the institution has evolved into a distinguished center for higher education. From 1867 to 1905, Muhlenberg College was located in Allentown's Trout Hall, a mansion built in 1770 by James Allen, son of William Allen. The college was renamed Muhlenberg College in 1867. Today, Muhlenberg offers a rigorous liberal arts education committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and excellence.

A Historical Overview

Originally named Allentown Seminary (1848-1864), the institution underwent several name changes, including Allentown Collegiate Institute and Military Academy (1864-1867) and Allentown Collegiate Institute (1867), before finally becoming Muhlenberg College. In 2019, Kathleen E. Harring, a social psychologist and the college's prior provost since 2017, was named its 13th president and its first female president, succeeding John I. Williams.

Location and Campus

Muhlenberg's current 82-acre (33 ha) campus is located in a residential neighborhood in Allentown's West End. The campus includes buildings with distinctive traditional European and Protestant red doors laid out on several college quads. Muhlenberg’s roots and ethos are apparent not only in our red doors - meant to signify welcome and hospitality - but in everything we do and stand for. The college's academic row runs the length of the main college quadrangle with Haas College Center, built between 1926 and 1929, in the center. Miller Tower, the dome and tower on top of Haas College Center, was inspired by Tom Tower at Christ Church College at the University of Oxford. It is named for David A. Miller. In 1988, the college opened the Harry C. Trexler Library. In 2002, Muhlenberg College opened The W.

Allentown, Pennsylvania's third-largest and fastest-growing city, is located in the vibrant Lehigh Valley, approximately 90 miles west of New York City and 55 miles north of Philadelphia, with one of the best park systems in the United States.

Academics and Programs

Muhlenberg College offers bachelor's degrees with academic focuses on liberal arts education and pre-professional studies. Approximately 85% of the faculty have a PhD or other terminal degree in their respective fields. The student to faculty ratio, as of 2018, was 11:1.

The college maintains chapters of over 15 national Greek academic honor societies. Bachelor's degree programs for returning adult students are offered through the School of Continuing Education. The college offers accelerated programs, cross-registration between disciplines, double majors, honors programs, independent study, internships, Army ROTC, student-designed majors, over 160 study-abroad programs, teacher certification, visiting and exchange student programs, and a Washington, D.C. semester program.

Muhlenberg challenges and supports students as they journey from exploration to experience to expertise. The college's innovative curriculum integrates a liberal arts education with required hands-on experiences like research, internships, and study abroad that build the skills and capacities necessary to make an impact in our increasingly complex world. The core of a Muhlenberg education is built on content areas that span disciplines, allowing students' curiosity and creativity to take the lead. Muhlenberg offers over 40 majors and 38 minors, including a range of career-oriented majors such as accounting, business administration, media & communication, public health, and more. The college is known for its strong preprofessional programs in prehealth, predental, and prelaw as well as its renowned theatre and dance programs. Academic partnerships with institutions like the University of Pennsylvania, American University and Boston University provide pathways to advanced degrees in medical professions, law, business, and public health.

Admissions and Financial Aid

In the 2016-2017 academic year, about one-third (32%) of applicants were offered admission. In the 2013-2014 academic year, about 44% of students accepted for admission into the freshman class were in the top 10% of their high school or preparatory school graduating class, 69% in the top 20% of their graduating class, and 81% were in the top 30%. Three-quarters of the freshman class receive some form of financial aid. Muhlenberg is primarily a regional college, with 72% of incoming freshmen coming from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or New York state.

Muhlenberg's federal school code is 003304. Students interested in pursuing the visual and performing arts may choose to submit materials for consideration for a talent scholarship in art, film studies, dance, music, or theatre.

Student Life and Activities

More than 100 clubs and organizations are on campus. In addition, the Muhlenberg Activity Council is responsible for bringing events and activities to campus. The college's official student-run print publication is The Muhlenberg Weekly. Established in 1883, the paper is published every week while school is in session. The student-run radio station, WMUH, which broadcasts at 91.7FM, is operated year-round by both students and volunteers from the surrounding Lehigh Valley community. In 1998, the HBO documentary Frat House, which addresses fraternity hazing, was largely filmed at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity at Muhlenberg.

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Muhlenberg students enjoy some of the best campus dining in the nation (and #1 in Pennsylvania). The overall demographics have been changing over the last several years, but some students still describe a number of their peers as “white, uppermiddle class, [and] from New Jersey.” That said, students agree that there’s no one fixed type; in fact: “There is a place for everyone on campus. It's quite easy to lead a full and fulfilling life at Muhlenberg. To begin with, the "school offers tons of free activities over the weekends, from movie showings to Stuff-A-Plush." Undergrads here also love the college's strong performing arts scene. Indeed, "a cappella groups are very popular at Muhlenberg." Additionally, given "the large theater department," it's virtually guaranteed that "there's always a show in production." Sports are equally popular: "football and basketball games have good attendance records."

Athletics

Muhlenberg College athletic teams are known as the Muhlenberg Mules and compete in NCAA Division III. Both men's and women's teams exist for basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, track and field, and wrestling. In 2004, additional athletic facilities were built west of the Life Sports Center. Updated tennis courts were built in 2003 and two fields were added in 1997 and 1998. The baseball and softball teams do not have on-campus facilities.

In 1900, the Muhlenberg Mules football program was founded as Muhlenberg College's first official varsity sport. Doggie Julian was its head coach from 1936 to 1944; his career record was 56-49-2. In 1946, Ben Schwartzwalder was named head football coach. In his first season, he guided the Mules to a 9-1 record and a national championship with Muhlenberg defeating St. Bonaventure University in the Tobacco Bowl. The following year, in the 1947 season, Schwartzwalder again led the Mules to a 9-1 record; the season's only loss came by one point, in a 7-6 loss at Temple. Since the 2000 season, Muhlenberg has compiled a 66-28 overall record in the Centennial Conference, second-best among all active and former members behind only Johns Hopkins University. Nate Milne was named Muhlenberg's head football coach in 2018.

Facilities

The College's labs, performance areas and collaborative spaces are designed for and structured around interdisciplinary learning. For students focused on the study of natural spaces, the College's research preserve and arboretum provide exceptional spaces for exploration and investigation. Student performers enjoy state-of-the-art studios, shops, classrooms and performance spaces. Muhlenberg's newest academic building, the Fahy Commons for Public Engagement and Innovation, opened in early 2023 and provides 20,000 square feet of programming, art studio and academic space. In August 2004, the Life Sports Center was expanded by 39,000 square feet (3,600 m2), adding a new indoor field house, gymnasium, cafe, health classrooms, and a pool.

Career Development

Muhlenberg College’s Career Center helps students explore academic majors and clarify career goals. Beginning in their first semester, students collaborate with a career coach to create a Muhlenberg Action Plan (MAP)-a dynamic roadmap that helps them identify strengths, explore interests, and understand how their liberal arts education connects to career success. One-on-one career coaching continues throughout a student’s time at Muhlenberg and even after graduation, ensuring ongoing guidance. The Career Center emphasizes experiential learning through its externship program, internship placements, and other hands-on opportunities that build industry-relevant experience. The Externship Program, for instance, allows students to shadow alumni and professionals in various fields over academic breaks, while internships provide hands-on experience across diverse industries. These experiences help students build networks, deepen industry knowledge, and gain competitive skills.

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Challenges and Controversies

Muhlenberg was one of the first institutions to fire a tenured professor over pro-Palestinian speech. During the 2024 pro-Palestinian campus protests, the college fired its Jewish anthropology professor, Maura Finkelstein, for sharing a social media post by Palestinian poet Remi Kanazi who wrote, "Do not cower to Zionists. Shame them. .. Don’t normalize Zionism. The college determined that Finkelstein violated its equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policies by sharing his words. In 2025, the American Association of University Professors found that the dismissal of Finkelstein, "a tenured associate professor and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology…, was in violation of AAUP-supported principles and standards of academic freedom and due process…that the administration’s hasty action… has severely impaired the climate for academic freedom at Muhlenberg College…, [and] that the college’s equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policies…

A Welcoming Community

Muhlenberg offers a dynamic curriculum that embraces all the potential of a liberal arts education, including majors in the arts, humanities, natural and social sciences, preprofessional programs and self-designed study. Students who attend Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania are welcomed into a "close-knit" community and are privy to "a well-rounded liberal arts education." And while the academics are certainly "rigorous," undergraduates here love the fact it's "[not] a cutthroat atmosphere." Importantly, students have their pick of many terrific disciplines, from the "amazing theater department" to the "extremely strong" business and science programs.

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