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Cumberland Colleges & Schools
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania contains six institutes of higher learning along with 9 public school districts.
Colleges and Universities
Central Pennsylvania College
Central Pennsylvania College is America's largest career-oriented college located in the suburban Harrisburg, Pennsylvania neighborhood of Summerdale, Pennsylvania.
Established in 1881, Central Penn, formerly known as Central Pennsylvania Business School, officially changed its name in 1999 to better characterize the diversity of the school's academic programs. Central Penn offers two-year associate's degree and three- and four-year bachelor's degree programs to its students. The college offers on-campus housing, but about 60 percent of the school’s students commute.
The school’s library, the Charles T. Jones Library, features a learning resource center open to the public. A swimming pool,basketball and volleyball courts and picnic areas also are features of the drug- and alcohol-free campus. The college is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773 , Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly-recognized United States. Dickinson was founded by Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and named in honor of a signer of the Constitution, John Dickinson, the President of Pennsylvania. Dickinson College is America's 16th oldest college.
With over 180 full-time faculty members and an enrollment of nearly 2,400 students, Dickinson is known for its innovative curriculum and outstanding international education programs but for also having an expensive tuition of $45,000 per year. Dickinson sponsors 12 study centers in other countries and its approach to global education has received national recognition from the American Council on Education and NAFSA: Association of International Educators. The college was among six institutions profiled in depth by NAFSA for "Outstanding Campus Internationalization" in 2003. The 42% acceptance rate for the Class of 2011 is Dickinson's lowest ever, and the College's nearly 6,000 applications put it amongst the top liberal arts colleges nationwide. In 2007 Dickinson's endowment topped $300 million, more than double its total from ten years before.
Dickinson College is not to be confused with the Dickinson School of Law, which abuts the campus but has not been associated with the college since the late 19th century. The law school merged with The Pennsylvania State University in 1997, and its students study at both the Carlisle and State College campuses. Dickinson is sometimes mistaken for, yet has no relation to, Fairleigh Dickinson University, a private university in the state of New Jersey.
Messiah College
Messiah College is a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences in the unincorporated village of Grantham in south-central Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1909 by the Brethren in Christ Church as the Messiah Bible School and Missionary Training Home.
Messiah's mission is to "educate men and women toward maturity of intellect, character, and Christian faith in preparation for lives of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society."
Penn State Dickinson School of Law
The Dickinson School of Law (also known as Penn State Dickinson or Penn State Law) is the law school of The Pennsylvania State University. Penn State Dickinson, one of the professional graduate schools of Penn State, operates as a dual-campus system with campuses located in both University Park, Pennsylvania and Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The two campuses operate meaningfully as a single enterprise, with a single identity, single reputation and single stature. The University Park Campus is Penn State's main campus, and it maintains over 40,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Carlisle, approximately 80 miles southeast of University Park, is the original home of the law school.
The law school was founded by John Reed in 1834, making it the fifth oldest law school in the United States and the oldest law school in Pennsylvania. It is home to over 600 law students, most of whom are earning the degrees of Juris Doctor (J.D.) or Master of Laws (LLM). Penn State Dickinson has a faculty and staff of over 100.
U.S. News and World Report, in its 2009 edition of America's Best Graduate Schools, ranked Penn State Dickinson 77th among the nation's top 218 law schools.
In June 2007 Penn State established the School of International Affairs that is intimately linked with the law school. The School of International Affairs, which will offer a professional master's degree in International Affairs with several specialty concentrations, will be housed administratively within the law school. The two schools will share similar educational objectives.
Randall Robinson was recently appointed as faculty of the School of International Affairs.
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, commonly known as Ship, or SU, is a public university located in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, 40 miles (64 km) west-southwest of Harrisburg. It is one of the 14 state universities that compose the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE).
Shippensburg University is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSACS). The U.S. News & World Report again ranked Shippensburg University among the top public universities in the North in its book "America's Best Colleges 2009." In the annual rankings, Shippensburg is tied for 58th among all institutions in the North region. It was named one of the 100 best values among public colleges in "Kiplinger's Personal Finance". Ship was also included in the 2007 edition of The Princeton Review's "The Best Northeastern Colleges."
U.S. Army War College
The United States Army War College is a United States Army school located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500 acre (2 km²) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks, a military post dating back to the 1770s. It caters to high-level military personnel and civilians and prepares them for strategic leadership responsibilities. It is the U. S. Army's most senior military educational institution.
The War College is a split-functional institution. While a great deal of emphasis is placed on research, students are also instructed in leadership, strategy, and joint-service/international operations.
Approximately 600 students attend at any one time, half in a two-year-long Internet-based program, and the other half in an on-campus program lasting ten months. The college grants its graduates, both civilian and military, a Master's degree in strategic studies.
The Army handpicks most of the students who participate in the residential program, but the student body always includes officers from the other military branches, civilians (from the Pentagon, State Department, and the National Security Agency), and several dozen senior officers from foreign countries. For example, the residential Class of 2004 included:
- 268 officers from the Army (active, reserve, National Guard), Navy (active, reserve), Air Force (active, reserve, National Guard), Marine Corps (active, reserve) and U.S. Coast Guard
- 30 senior civilian employees of the federal government
- 42 officers from other countries
The average age of students is 45 years old and the typical military rank is Lieutenant Colonel. Army applicants must have already completed the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College.
Public School Districts
There are 9 public school districts in Cumberland County:
- Big Spring School District
- Camp Hill School District
- Carlisle Area School District
- Cumberland Valley School District
- East Pennsboro Area School District
- Mechanicsburg Area School District
- Shippensburg Area School District
- South Middleton School District
- West Shore School District