About Bates — 2011

A heritage of innovation from the start


Bates College, widely regarded as one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the nation, is a welcoming community whose members care deeply about the rigorous, challenging, and rewarding life of ideas and principles, and value their exchange and examination.

Bates helps students discover their strengths, investigate unquestioned assumptions and make a meaningful impact during their years on campus and throughout alumni life.


The Mission of Bates

Since 1855, Bates College has been dedicated to the emancipating potential of the liberal arts. Bates educates the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. With ardor and devotion — Amore ac Studio — we engage the transformative power of our differences, cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action. Preparing leaders sustained by a love of learning and a commitment to responsible stewardship of the wider world, Bates is a college for coming times.