Interesting Facts About Salem College

If you’d like to learn a lot about Salem College in a short amount of time, check out the list of fast facts below.

Basic Info About Salem

• Salem College is a four-year liberal arts school for women. Women and men ages 23 and older are accepted into undergraduate programs through the Fleer Center for Adult Education and to the graduate programs in education and music.
• We are the thirteenth oldest college in the United States, according to the American Council on Education in Washington, DC, and the oldest educational institution for women and girls in the nation.
• Motto: “Knowledge and Virtue”
• Salem offers four undergraduate degrees (bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, bachelor of music, and bachelor of science in business administration); three graduate degrees (master of arts in teaching, master of education, and master of music); teacher licensure (Elementary Education K-6, General Curriculum Special Education K-12, Middle/Secondary Content Area 6-12, Second Language - French and Spanish - K-12 and Art Education K-12; add-on licensure is available in Academically and Intellectually Gifted (AIG), Birth-Kindergarten, Reading, and English as a Second Language); and two certificate programs, in Not-for-Profit Management and Injury-Preventive Keyboard Technique.

Salem Population

• Salem’s total enrollment of 509 includes traditional-age college students (all women), adults enrolled in the graduate degree programs in education, as well as women and men ages 23 and up who take courses through the Fleer Center for Adult Education.
• Student to faculty ratio is 12:1; 94 percent of professors have PhDs or terminal degrees in their field; 79 percent are women.
• Salem College has the most racially and ethnically diverse student body of any local institution: 47 percent of traditional students are students of color.

Salem Recognition & Value

• Salem College’s law school admission rate is 100 percent.
• Ranked #4 by U.S. News and World Report for “Social Mobility”
• Money magazine has named Salem one of the top 10 “Best Buys” among women’s colleges seven years in a row. (We were also ranked in the top 150 “Best Buys” for all colleges and universities in the US and one of the top 25 “Best Buys” among liberal arts colleges in the Southeast.
• Salem is ranked one of the top “Character-Building Colleges” in the nation by the John Templeton Foundation, in large part because of the unique Salem Impact program.
• Women who attend women’s colleges are twice as likely as their peers in co-ed institutions to pursue careers and advanced degrees in the sciences. At Salem, our science programs are among our most popular. Salem’s Women in Science program is designed to provide academic and career support for students interested in pursuing careers in science or mathematics.
• Since 2010, students graduating with a degree from the Natural Sciences or Mathematics departments at Salem College have achieved a 89.6% acceptance rate into health science-related programs, including dental, graduate research, medical, occupational therapy, osteopathic medical, pharmacy, physician assistant, and physical therapy schools. This data was collected using a voluntary survey to which Salem graduates since 2010 were asked to report on acceptance rates and career outcomes

Salem Athletics

• The Salem College athletic program is composed of six Division III sports: basketball, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball.
• Salem competes with other colleges in Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and North and South Carolina. Salem College is in Division III of the NCAA and is a member of the USA South Athletic Conference.
• Team name: Salem Spirits

Student Achievement Data

Six-year Graduation Rates

Salem College has set for itself a goal that 75% of all first-time, full-time, first-year students (FTFTFY) will graduate within 6 years.

Actual 6-year graduation rates for students in the fall 2013 cohort:

Note on graduation rates: This graduation rate is calculated using IPEDS definitions, and it is comparable to the graduation rates at other institutions, as found on the College Navigator website. Six years is the same as 150% of the normal time to graduation.

In addition to the overall 6-year graduation rate, Salem College has set for itself the goal of a 65% 6-year graduation rate for FTFTFY students with financial need and FTFTFY students of color.

Actual 6-year graduation rates for students in the fall 2013 cohort

Salem College has also set a goal that 75% of all FTFTFY students who intend to major in STEM fields will graduate within 6 years.

Actual 6-year graduation rates for students in the fall 2013 cohort

One-Year Retention of First-time Full-time First-Year Cohorts:

Salem College has set a goal that 70% of all first-time, full-time, first-year students will reenroll for a second fall semester.

Actual one-year retention rates of FTFTFY students:

Persistence of all undergraduates:

Salem College has set a goal that 85% of all undergraduate students who are enrolled each spring will either graduate or reenroll in the following fall semester.

Actual spring-to-fall persistence rates of all undergraduate students:

Placement Rates

(based on a survey of graduates Dec 2016-Dec 2018, with a 42% response rate)

Salem College Academic Programs with CIP Codes

Contact Salem College for Additional Information

We hope you found our list of Salem facts helpful. If you have additional questions about our school history or academic offerings and feel free to contact us at 336-721-2600.

Salem College is proud to be the oldest continuously operating educational institution for women in the US, among its many other interesting and praiseworthy distinctions.