What Gold Within Means To Our Community
DePauw has launched leaders the world needs for nearly two centuries through a gold-standard, residential learning experience in and out of the classroom.
Gold signifies our dedication to a world-class academics and the success of every student. It means exceptional career (and life!) preparation through connections to successful alumni, a powerful network of support from your first day on campus, and a level of personal attention you won’t find at a big university.
From our comprehensive liberal arts and sciences foundation to our core values, Gold also reflects the talent and abilities within us. Once you attend DePauw, you’ll always be Gold Within.
EMPOWERING EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT IN OURSELVES AND OTHERS.
DePauw is a place that attracts a specific kind of person. A person with many talents and the will to lead. A person who will find success in any role or discipline they seek. We promise small classes, innovative teaching and an emphasis on free thinking and dialogue. It's a promise that empowers students to impact the world even before they leave campus. Thirty percent of DePauw students engage in real-world research with faculty members, and we encourage students to take on two or more internships during their time here. DePauw is in the top 14 percent in the U.S. for graduate earnings 15 years after graduation; 98 percent of our graduates are employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation. That's what we call Gold Within.
BORN OF A STRONG COMMITMENT TO IMPROVE OUR CITIZENS AND THE WORLD.
In 1837, the Methodist Episcopal Church founded Indiana Asbury University — our original name — in Greencastle, Indiana. It was a place “forever to be conducted on the most liberal principles, accessible to all denominations and designed for the benefit of our citizens in general.” Its core values, which included integrity, diversity and intellect, united the community from day one of its conception. Three years later, the college inaugurated friend and counselor of Abraham Lincoln, Matthew Simpson, as its first president, and celebrated its first class of graduates.
APPROACHING EVERY CHALLENGE AND CHANGE WITH HOPE, ENERGY AND CONFIDENCE.
From its humble beginnings of one professor and five students, the college advanced with energy and confidence. It overcame the challenges of the Civil War and admitted its first group of women students in 1867, and the curriculum evolved to include courses in history, composition and the natural sciences. Despite the economic hardships of the 1870s, the college continued its growth with the construction of the iconic East College. A generous $600,000 donation from Washington C. DePauw and his family inspired the college’s change of name from Indiana Asbury University to what we know today as DePauw University.
AN UNSURPASSED EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE.
DePauw University earned widespread acclaim for its distinct programs and experiences, beginning with the 1884 formation of the School of Music, which continues as one of the oldest music schools in the nation. DePauw was the starting place for many Greek chapters and organizations, including Indiana’s distinguished Phi Beta Kappa society, the Society of Professional Journalists and the nation’s first 10-watt college FM radio station. The campus expanded to 655 acres of stately grounds overlain with majestic brick buildings, sprawling parks and sustainable gardens. The epic Monon Bell football game and later the Ubben Lecture Series became centerpiece traditions, along with a campus-wide emphasis on community service, from local volunteerism to public health projects in developing countries.
RECOGNIZING KEY OPPORTUNITIES IN ADVANCING AND INVENTING SOLUTIONS.
For 180 years, DePauw has established its place among leading institutions of higher education as a place of learning and advancement for students and communities.