The Centre Commitment
At Centre, we’re committed to providing a learning experience that reflects your individual interests and abilities. To show our dedication to the concept of a personal education, we've developed “The Centre Commitment.”
The Centre Commitment guarantees students who meet the College’s academic and social expectations an internship, study abroad experience, and graduation in four years. If a student meets the College’s academic and social expectations and is unable to secure the components of the Centre Commitment within four consecutive years of enrollment, the College will provide up to an additional year of study tuition-free.
Guaranteed graduation in four years.
Why are we confident enough to make this guarantee?
Probably for the same reasons Centre consistently receives outstanding marks in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). According to the NSSE, Centre ranks among the top four schools participating in this national survey in such categories as academic challenge, student interactions with faculty members, collaborative learning, supportive environment, and enriching educational experiences.
Centre is one of only two schools singled out for “engaging students in intellectually challenging activities.” So while our academic program is top-notch, the classroom is only part of the Centre experience.
The Centre Commitment, a more explicit statement of options widely accessible to students for years, is just one more way we emphasize individualized education in an all-learning, all-the-time environment.
Special Opportunities
Centre clearly offers an outstanding education. Centre is a U.S. News top-50 national liberal arts college and is highly ranked and regarded in virtually all the lists and guidebooks. For more on Centre's rankings (click here).
Outside the classroom, your education is further enhanced and personalized through Centre’s numerous internship and study-abroad opportunities, both of which are guaranteed under the terms of the Centre Commitment.
“More than ever, classroom learning alone is not enough. To be well-educated, a student must be able to connect what they learn in the classroom or laboratory with the needs of an interconnected world and a competitive employment market,” says Bob Nesmith, Dean of Admission and Student Financial Planning.
“The Centre Commitment is our promise that Centre will do its part to provide our students the real-world and wide-world experiences they need to make the most of an extraordinary education,” he says.
Centre offers many opportunities for you to tailor your education through internships that reflect your particular
interests and career goals.
The Internship Advantage
Internships play a significant role in preparing students for success. In fact, most employers offer almost 10 percent higher average starting salaries to recent college graduates who have completed an internship.
Not only do internships help you secure higher-paying jobs, they give you real-world experience and allow students to apply what you’ve learned in the classroom. Think of it as “trying on a career.”
Centre students have completed fascinating internships at places like the White House, the British Parliament, and the Southern Center for Human Rights. They’ve also interned for the Child Welfare League, IBM, and the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, to name only a few.
We offer many opportunities for you to tailor your education through internships that reflect your particular interests and career goals. Our Career Services Office will help you find the internship that’s a fit for you.
Students can complete internships for academic credit, or apply for the College’s newest internship program, Internship Plus, which provides matching grants for selected internships.
Centre has one of the nation’s top three study-abroad programs.
World-Class Education
If you like the idea of studying theater where Shakespeare’s plays were first performed, learning about Mexican architecture by exploring Mayan ruins, or perfecting your French as you traverse France’s countryside, your passport is Centre.
Centre has one of the nation’s top-10 study-abroad programs with about 85 percent of our students studying abroad at least once. We have permanent off-campus programs in China, England, France, Japan, Mexico, and Northern Ireland, as well as shorter trips to places like Barbados, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and Vietnam.
Centre's Your Passport
And when we say above that “your passport is Centre,” it's true figuratively—and literally. For entering students who don't already have a passport, the College will provide one—free of charge! This is a concrete demonstration of our commitment to educating all our students for global citizenship.
We Deliver
Unlike other institutions where students may take five or even six years to graduate, Centre students are likely to graduate on time. Most Centre students not only graduate in four years, they also are able to take advantage of special opportunities such as internships and study abroad in that time. Many factors contribute to Centre’s strong four-year graduation rate, among them:
- A top-notch, “one-to-one, from-day-one” advising system assigns students academic and career advisors before they ever set foot on campus.
- A small student-to-faculty ratio (11-1) allows students more personalized interactions with faculty.
- Outstanding faculty members take great interest in their students, sometimes holding classes in residence halls or inviting students home for dinnertime discussions.
- Outstanding students. Our students have fun, but they also take their education seriously (60 percent of our students ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class). Centre students also regularly win the most prestigious awards for postgraduate study (Rhodes, Fulbright, Rotary, and Truman scholarships).
Centre recognizes how important it is for you to graduate on time. Prompt graduation is a key way in which we give students the best educational value for their dollar.