About Chatham

 

Chatham University prepares students from around the world to help develop solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges. Consistently ranked among the top master’s-level institutions in the Northeast by U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review, Chatham University is also ranked in the top five percent of graduate-intensive institutions nationally and experienced the fastest-growing enrollment in the Pittsburgh region over the past decade.

More than 2,200 students are enrolled in Chatham’s three distinctive Colleges:

In June 2009 Chatham created the School of Sustainability and the Environment (SSE) to apply the co-equal principles of sustainability - social justice, economic development, and environmental studies - within a systems perspective in order to create a new, trans-disciplinary academic initiative. The School's vision honors the legacy of Rachel Carson, Chatham’s most distinguished alumna, who founded the modern environmental movement.

Two Campuses

Chatham’s Shadyside Campus is the University's historic, original location and includes the 39-acre Woodland Road arboretum. The Shadyside Campus expanded in 2008 with the opening of the 7-acre Chatham Eastside facility less than one mile east from Woodland Road, which houses the University's architecture and health science programs. Chatham became the largest campus in Allegheny County - yet with the smallest carbon footprint - in 2008 with the gift of the 388-acre Eden Hall Campus in Richland Township, approximately 19 miles north of the Shadyside Campus. The Eden Hall Campus will be the new home of Chatham's new School of Sustainability and the Environment.  (Click here to view the master plan for Eden Hall Campus.)

Thinking Outside the Box

Throughout its history Chatham has been innovative and entrepreneurial in its growth from a small women's college to a dynamic University. Some of these forward-thinking initiatives include:

  • The Accelerated Graduate Program allows an undergraduate student to begin a Chatham graduate program during her senior year and earn both a bachelor's and master's degree in as few as five years.
  • The Bachelor of Interior Architecture is one of the first three-year degree programs in the United States that doesn't include summer study, thereby allowing students to still participate in summer internships and job opportunities.
  • The Master of Physician Assistant Studies program is noted for its problem-based learning pedagogy and in 2010 expanded to sites in Florida and Puerto Rico.
  • The Master of Arts in Food Studies is unique in its emphasis on a holistic approach to food systems and is the only graduate food studies programs in the U.S to offer both sustainable agriculture and culinary arts and cuisine within a liberal arts environment.
  • The Gateway Program was one of first undergraduate programs in the U.S. designed exclusively for women over the age of 23 who want to return to college and earn a bachelor's degree.

Awards and Honors

The University has been recognized both nationally and internationally for its innovative programs and growth, including:

Mission Statement

Chatham University prepares its students, bachelors through doctoral level, on campus and around the world, to excel in their professions and to be engaged, environmentally responsible, globally conscious, life-long learners, and citizen leaders for democracy. Chatham College for Women offers superb career preparation informed by the liberal arts. Chatham College for Graduate Studies and Chatham College for Continuing and Professional Studies provide men and women with undergraduate, graduate, professional, and continuing education of the highest quality with primary emphasis on preparation for work and the professions.

Accreditation

Chatham University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (267) 284-5000; and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. In addition, several degree programs are accredited by external accrediting bodies: