Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College at a Glance
Reviewed by James A. Barham, PhD, Vice President and Academic Editor. Influence ranks come from our InfluenceRanking™ methodology; other figures come from federal data, with the year shown under each section. Report an error
Gettysburg College Featured Rankings
About Gettysburg College
In brief
Gettysburg College, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1832. Its most popular programs are the social sciences, biology, business, psychology, and English, and its Sunderman Conservatory of Music is highly respected. By our measure of academic influence, it ranks #417 in the United States and #1414 in the world. It admitted 38.9% of applicants for fall 2024; admitted students had a median SAT score of 1365 and a median ACT score of 30.
Where Gettysburg’s influence is strongest
As a small liberal arts college, Gettysburg does not rank among the national leaders in our influence data. Its strongest broad fields, by US rank in our data, are:
- Physics: #207 in the US (#870 in the world)
- Economics: #227
- History: #268
How we measure influence: these ranks come from the citations and recognition earned by a school’s faculty and alumni in each discipline, not from surveys or admissions statistics. See our methodology.
Notable people
Gettysburg’s Nobel connection is the physician J. Michael Bishop. Its faculty and alumni also include the mathematician Luther P. Eisenhart, the young-adult author Jerry Spinelli, the cinematographer Owen Roizman, the marine biologist Mimi Koehl, the nuclear engineer Norman Rasmussen, and former US Representative Ron Paul. Our full lists of Gettysburg’s most influential alumni and faculty appear below.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gettysburg hard to get into? Moderately. It admitted 38.9% of applicants for fall 2024; the middle half of admitted students scored 640–720 on the SAT reading section and 630–740 on math.
What does Gettysburg cost after financial aid? Tuition is $68,970 for 2025–26. The average net price for aided students with family incomes of $48,000–$75,000 was $21,037 in 2024–25; it ranged from about $14,662 for incomes of $30,000–$48,000 to $45,715 for incomes above $110,000.
How do Gettysburg graduates do? 78.6% of students who started in 2019 graduated within six years, and 91% of first-year students return for a second year. Ten years after starting college, former students had median earnings of $80,119.
What is Gettysburg best known for academically? Its highest-ranked fields in our influence data are physics, economics, and history.
According to Wikipedia, Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. Gettysburg students come from 41 states, Washington, D.C., and 39 countries.
Gettysburg College Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information
| Annual Applications | Acceptance | Retention Rate | Graduation Rate | Median SAT Score | Median ACT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7,123 | 39% | 91% | 79% | 1365 | 30 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); acceptance rate for fall 2024; test scores for fall 2024; applications and enrollment for fall 2023; retention for students who started in fall 2023; graduation rate within six years for students who started in 2019.
How Much Does Gettysburg College Cost To Attend?
| Tuition and fees (in-state) |
|---|
| $68,970 |
| Income | Average Net Cost |
|---|---|
| 0 - 30K | $17,752 |
| 30K - 48K | $14,662 |
| 48K - 75K | $21,037 |
| 75K - 110K | $32,570 |
| 110K+ | $45,715 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); tuition and fees for 2025–26; net price for 2024–25, for first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid.
How Much Do Gettysburg College Graduates Make?
Ten years after starting college, former Gettysburg College students who received federal financial aid earn a median of $80,119 a year, and 96% of those not still in school are working.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; students who started college in 2011–12 or 2012–13, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.
Gettysburg College's Demographics
Students enrolled at any time during the 2023–24 school year, including part-time and online students.
| Student Body | Under-Grads | Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| 3,373 | 2,341 | 1,032 |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics; 12-month enrollment for 2023–24.
Where is Gettysburg College?
Gettysburg College is located at 300 N Washington St, Gettysburg, PA 17325.
How Safe is Gettysburg College?
Like every college that receives federal student aid, Gettysburg College publishes an annual security report with its campus crime statistics and safety policies. Its figures can also be looked up in the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security database.
Relative to its enrollment, Gettysburg College has a violent crime rate of 0.43% and a property crime rate of 0.18%. Gettysburg has a violent crime rate of 0.14% and a property (including theft) crime rate of 0.63%. Sources: campus: U.S. Department of Education Campus Safety and Security data, on-campus offenses in 2024 (violent: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property: burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, which excludes ordinary theft); city: FBI Crime Data Explorer, offenses reported to the city police in 2024.
What Is Gettysburg College Known For?
Gettysburg College is known for its academic work in the following disciplines:
- Physics
- Economics
- History
- Mathematics
- Chemistry
- Psychology
- Biology
- Literature
- Political Science
- Philosophy
- Sociology
- Religious Studies
- Education
- Computer Science
- Anthropology
Gettysburg College's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered
Each rank compares how much Gettysburg College's faculty and alumni have shaped a field with other schools, using Wikipedia, Wikidata and scholarly citation databases such as Crossref and Semantic Scholar. World and U.S. ranks reflect modern influence; the historical rank counts influence across all time. How we rank influence
Gettysburg College ranks #207 in the U.S. and #870 worldwide for influence in Physics.
physics DegreesGettysburg College ranks #227 in the U.S. and #1126 worldwide for influence in Economics.
economics DegreesGettysburg College ranks #268 in the U.S. and #756 worldwide for influence in History.
history DegreesGettysburg College ranks #280 in the U.S. and #1104 worldwide for influence in Mathematics.
math DegreesGettysburg College ranks #290 in the U.S. and #1486 worldwide for influence in Chemistry.
chemistry DegreesGettysburg College ranks #315 in the U.S. and #777 worldwide for influence in Psychology.
psychology DegreesGettysburg College ranks #332 in the U.S. and #1351 worldwide for influence in Biology.
biology DegreesGettysburg College ranks #336 in the U.S. and #1017 worldwide for influence in Literature.
literature DegreesGettysburg College ranks #341 in the U.S. and #1337 worldwide for influence in Political Science.
political-science DegreesGettysburg College ranks #363 in the U.S. and #1203 worldwide for influence in Philosophy.
philosophy DegreesGettysburg College ranks #420 in the U.S. and #1462 worldwide for influence in Sociology.
sociology DegreesGettysburg College ranks #483 in the U.S. and #2131 worldwide for influence in Religious Studies.
religious-studies-hub DegreesGettysburg College ranks #522 in the U.S. and #2317 worldwide for influence in Education.
education DegreesGettysburg College ranks #531 in the U.S. and #2443 worldwide for influence in Computer Science.
computer-science DegreesGettysburg College ranks #599 in the U.S. and #1859 worldwide for influence in Anthropology.
anthropology DegreesWho Are Gettysburg College's Most Influential Alumni?
Gettysburg College's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of History, Psychology, and Physics. Here are some of Gettysburg College's most famous alumni:
- J. Michael Bishop
- An American immunologist and microbiologist.
- Ron Paul
- An American politician .
- Charles A. Willoughby
- A US Army Intelligence Officer.
- Owen Roizman
- An American cinematographer .
- Pavlina R. Tcherneva
- An American economist.
- Jerry Spinelli
- An American children's writer.
- Luther P. Eisenhart
- An American mathematician.
- Henry Eyster Jacobs
- An American theologian .
- Arthur Byron Coble
- An American mathematician .
- Charles Porterfield Krauth
- An American theologian.
- Norman Rasmussen
- An American nuclear engineer.
- Ruth J. Person
- An American academic.
