Widener University
Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in 1821, the university was known as the Pennsylvania Military College until 1972. Widener enrolls approximately 3,500 undergraduate students across six colleges and schools. The university also operates two distinct law schools in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware. Widener is named in honor of Eleanor Elkins Widener.
The university offers associate’s, bachelor’s, master's, and doctoral degrees in a variety of fields across liberal arts, business, and engineering, to nursing and a variety of health and human service professional programs.
History
19th century
Widener University was founded in 1821 as the Bullock School for Boys preparatory school in Wilmington, Delaware, by John Bullock. Bullock operated the school until 1846 when it was sold to Samuel Alsop and renamed the Alsop School for Boys. In 1853, the school was sold to Theodore Hyatt and renamed the Hyatt's Select School for Boys, and again in 1859 to the Delaware Military Academy.In 1862, the school moved to West Chester, Pennsylvania. By act of assembly on April 8, 1862, the Pennsylvania legislature incorporated the school as a university under the name of Chester County Military Academy.
In 1865, the school moved to Chester, Pennsylvania, and occupied the building which would become the Old Main building of the Crozer Theological Seminary. By 1868, the school outgrew the Crozer Old Main building and relocated to its current location.
20th century
From 1892 to 1966, the school was known as Pennsylvania Military College and was under the direction of General Charles Hyatt. PMC was once one of the nation's senior military colleges. In 1869, Pennsylvania Military College was the first school to have a U.S. Army detail stationed at the school and to receive federal arms for training. In 1904, the school was recognized on the first list of distinguished institutions published by the U.S. War Department. In 1923, "American March King" John Philip Sousa wrote and dedicated "The Dauntless Battalion" march to PMC's President, the faculty and the cadets of PMC. Sousa had been presented with an honorary doctor of music degree by the college in 1920, and he was impressed by the cadet cavalry horsemen.In 1966, the school changed its name again to PMC Colleges, which incorporated Pennsylvania Military College as well as Penn Morton College, which had a non-military, co-educational curriculum. The school expanded the Chester campus from 25 acres to 90 acres. Graduate programs were introduced in 1966, and female students were first enrolled in 1967.
In 1972, the institution was renamed Widener College to honor the memory of Eleanor Elkins Widener, the maternal grandmother of Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr., a generous supporter of the organization over four decades and a member of the prominent Widener family of Philadelphia. The Corps of Cadets disbanded, although an Army ROTC program was retained. The Widener University School of Law was acquired in 1975, which was split in 2015 to become two separate law schools: one on the Delaware campus and another in Harrisburg – Widener University Commonwealth Law School. In recognition of its comprehensive offerings, Widener College became Widener University in 1979. Today, Widener is a four-campus university offering more than 80 programs of study.
Architecture
The Manor House was designed and built by Jonathan Edwards Woodbridge in 1888 at 14th and Potter Street. It was a wedding gift to his wife, Louise Deshong, and was originally named "The Louise". It was modeled after the late 19th-century English country manor style and is unique for its hand-made brick construction.The house was given to the city of Chester as a home for young women. In 1976, Widener University purchased the home for use as a student residence. It later became home to the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority. The home is currently used by Widener University as a student dormitory.
The Old Main and Chemistry Building were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Campuses
Widener consists of three campuses located in Chester, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.Founded in 1866 after the school moved to Chester, the Chester campus serves all full-time undergraduate day students, part-time adult and continuing studies students, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute students, and graduate students.
Widener School of Law opened in 1976. In July 2015, Widener School of Law, which used to be one school sitting on the Delaware and Harrisburg campuses, split to become Widener University Delaware Law School in Wilmington and Widener University Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg.
Academics
Widener's academic offerings include over 50 undergraduate majors, 40 minors, and more than 30 graduate programs of study. Widener has an undergraduate student to faculty ratio of 12:1 with 90% of the full-time faculty having doctorates or the highest degree in their field. In addition, 60% of all classes contain less than 20 students.Libraries and museums
The Wolfgram Memorial Library contains 242,000 volumes, 175,000 microfilms, 12,000 audio-visual materials and 1,960 serial subscriptions.In 1979, Widener University leased and restored the Deshong Art Museum located on Edgemont Avenue in Chester. The Deshong Art Museum was built in 1914 after the death of the art collector and wealthy industrialist Alfred O. Deshong left his trust and land to the city of Chester. Deshong donated over 300 pieces of art to the museum including carved Japanese ivory figures, Chinese carved hard stone vessels and 19th century American and European paintings.
Over the years, the museum fell into disrepair and in July 1984 the trustees that managed the art museum dissolved the trust. The Asian and impressionistic art collection were given to Widener University and are displayed in their permanent collection.
The PMC Museum highlights the legacy of the Pennsylvania Military Academy of Cadets with exhibits of sabres, uniforms, scrapbooks, newspapers, and yearbooks.
Rankings and classifications
The 2025 Best Colleges list from U.S. News & World Report ranked Widener as tied for 266th among 434 national universities, with a score of 43 out of 100. It also ranked Widener's undergraduate engineering program tied for 150th among programs whose highest engineering degree is a bachelor's or master's. The 2025 U.S. News & World Report's Best Graduate Schools ranks several of Widener's graduate programs: clinical psychology → #185, health care law → #80, Environmental Law → #53 physical therapy → #122, and social work → #201.Student life
Enrollment
Widener enrolls approximately 6,300 total students including 3,600 undergraduate, 1,700 graduate students, and 1,000 law school students. Among full-time undergraduate students, the male/female ratio is about 0.8:1. 48% of undergraduates choose to live on the Main Campus while the remaining students live off-campus or commute. Approximately 54% of all full-time undergraduates are from Pennsylvania with 45% coming from the rest of the country, and 1% of students originating from outside the U.S. The acceptance rate for undergraduate applicants in fall 2013 was 65.5%.Student clubs and events
The university has over 100 student clubs. Graduate students are currently not allowed to participate in club sports activities.TV Club is Widener's student-run television program. WDNR is the student-run campus radio station.
Fraternity and sorority life
Widener has several fraternities and sororities. Approximately 12% of all undergraduates are members.Community
Widener is one of only 22 colleges that is a member of Project Pericles, an organization promoting social responsibility and addressing civic apathy among students. It is classified as a Community Engagement Institution.Widener has several initiatives aimed at benefiting the surrounding community. These include:
- Pennsylvania Small Business Development CenterThe school opened the center in 2006 to provide consulting and educational programs to local small businesses and entrepreneurs. It is one of only 18 in the state and one of 3 in the Philadelphia region.
- Philadelphia Speakers SeriesSince 2004, Widener has sponsored this series which has had such notable speakers as Steve Wozniak, Henry Kissinger, Walter Cronkite and Dave Barry.
- University Technology ParkA joint project started in 1999 between the university and Crozer-Keystone Health System to foster small business opportunities focusing on health care, science and technology. It currently consists of two buildings on and is located directly in between the Main Campus and Crozer-Keystone Medical Center.
- Widener University ObservatoryThe observatory has free public telescope viewings throughout the school year hosted by the physics and astronomy department.
Charter school
Classes in the charter school started in September 2006, enrolling 50 students in both kindergarten and grade 1. The school continued to add a new grade each year until grade 8 had been reached, surpassing the initial expectations of the project.
Chester revitalization project
A $50 million revitalization project was started in 2007. The project, named University Crossings, included the addition of a hotel, bookstore, coffee shop, restaurant, and apartments. The project is expected to have an overall economic impact of $1 million to Chester, as well as creating 100 new jobs.In 2017, Widener University purchased the Taylor Memorial Arboretum in Nether Providence Township about 1 mile north of the Chester campus. The university purchased the site from BNY Mellon bank and plans to use the nature reserve for research and hands-on learning opportunities for citizen science projects.