Washington College

What Washington College does

Washington College is a private, nonprofit liberal arts college founded in 1782 and located in Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It serves primarily prospective undergraduate students, with secondary audiences including graduate and professional school-bound students and the surrounding Eastern Shore community. The institution operates a 112-acre main campus integrated into Chestertown plus a 5,000-acre River and Field Campus (RAFC) with 2.5 miles of Chester River waterfront used as a living laboratory for field research, environmental science, and the Chesapeake Semester. It holds its 243rd Commencement in 2025, graduating a Class of 2026 of 189 students.

The college's academic and experiential platform is organized around a set of named centers and institutes — the Center for Career Development (running a four-year career development model), the Center for Environment and Society (housed in the Living Building Challenge-certified Semans-Griswold Environmental Hall), the Rose O'Neill Literary House, the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, the Geospatial Innovation Program, and the newly launched Hogan Institute for civic leadership. Supporting infrastructure includes 28 affiliated study-abroad programs, more than 10,000 internship opportunities, the John S. Toll Research Fellowship, Hodson Funding for unpaid internships, dual-degree and post-graduate partnership programs, and a Senior Capstone Experience. The Semans-Griswold Environmental Hall is a Living Building Challenge-certified facility and the college is a recognized U.S. EPA Green Power Partner; the institution is also a member of the CERN Large Hadron Collider consortium.

The business model is a tuition-and-fee subscription recurring stream supplemented by donations and philanthropic gifts. Tuition and fees generate the core recurring revenue from approximately 950–1,100 undergraduate students, while donations flow through programs including the Senior Class Gifts (e.g., $150 personalized bricks, $26 Class of 2026 member contributions), the 1782 Society, and general philanthropy. The go-to-market is admissions-led and consumer-facing, running campus visits, virtual tours, admissions events, and outreach to prospective high school and transfer students. The college does not publicly disclose its revenue, and the institution is privately held with no parent company, no venture capital backing, and no subsidiaries.

Name

Washington College

Legal name

Washington College

Website

https://washcoll.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1782

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Washington College, founded in 1782 in Chestertown, Maryland, is a private liberal arts college serving undergraduate students through experiential learning programs including research, internships, study abroad, and field study across a 112-acre campus.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

General Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Secular/Nonsectarian Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAG), Residential Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAH)

Keywords

• Liberal arts education
• Undergraduate education
• Experiential learning
• Career development services
• Civic engagement programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Chestertown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue generated from student tuition and fees for undergraduate education.
2. Donations and Gifts: The college receives donations through various giving programs including Senior Class Gifts, the 1782 Society, and general philanthropy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Washington College is a private liberal arts college that delivers undergraduate education grounded in experiential learning. It offers a residential four-year college experience on a 112-acre main campus complemented by a 5,000-acre River and Field Campus, providing academic majors/minors, research opportunities, internships, study-abroad programs (28 affiliated), and career development services to prospective undergraduate students.

Product overview

Washington College is Maryland's premier liberal arts college offering a comprehensive educational experience with experiential learning at its core. The institution provides a traditional liberal arts undergraduate education across multiple academic divisions, complemented by a network of specialized centers and programs. Key offerings include the Center for Career Development with its four-year career development model (including First-Year Career Awareness and SPARK programs), the Center for Environment and Society at the waterfront campus, the Rose O'Neill Literary House, the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, and the new Hogan Institute focused on civic leadership. The College operates the 5,000-acre River and Field Campus as a living laboratory and provides numerous research fellowships (John S. Toll Research Fellowship), internship funding (Hodson Funding, Andrew C. Helms Internship Grant), and dual-degree/post-graduate partnership programs. Students can participate in study abroad through 28 affiliated programs and the Chesapeake Semester interdisciplinary program. The institution is located in Chestertown on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with additional facilities including the Semans-Griswold Environmental Hall (Living Building Challenge certified) and the Lim Family Tennis Center.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Center for Career Development

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% of students engage with the Center for Career Development in their first year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• TIAAminorOthersTIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association) provides internship opportunities for Washington College students. A student met the head of human relations at an alumni soccer game and was hired for a retirement and wealth management internship.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Gettysburg College: Pennsylvania-based private liberal arts college with similarly historic origins, residential liberal arts model, and strong career outcomes focus through experiential programming.
• Goucher College: Private liberal arts college in Maryland with comparable enrollment scale, residential model, and emphasis on individualized learning and study-abroad programs.
• Franklin & Marshall College: Highly selective private liberal arts college in Pennsylvania with similar size, residential focus, and emphasis on undergraduate research and pre-professional outcomes.
• Ursinus College: Small private liberal arts college in Pennsylvania with comparable enrollment scale, residential model, and emphasis on undergraduate research, internships, and career preparation.
• Haverford College: Highly selective private liberal arts college in Pennsylvania known for individualized undergraduate education, research opportunities, and tight alumni network — directly comparable positioning to Washington College.
• Loyola University Maryland: Jesuit private university in Baltimore with liberal arts core, similar Mid-Atlantic regional market, and comparable experiential learning and career development programming.
• St. Mary's College of Maryland: Maryland's other public honors college and small liberal arts institution on the Eastern Shore/ Chesapeake region, offering a comparable residential liberal arts model with strong experiential learning emphasis in a similar geographic market.
• Dickinson College: Pennsylvania-based private liberal arts college of similar scale with strong emphasis on fieldwork, internships, and study abroad — directly comparable experiential learning positioning.
• McDaniel College: Small private liberal arts college in Westminster, Maryland with a similarly sized student body, residential model, and focus on undergraduate teaching and experiential opportunities.

Broad incumbents

• University of Maryland, College Park: Maryland's flagship public research university serving the same regional applicant pool as Washington College but at much greater scale; competes for in-state students who choose between a large public university and a small liberal arts college experience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/washcoll
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/WashingtonCollege
• Facebookfacebook.com/46653487403
• Instagraminstagram.com/washcoll
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/washington-college

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Washington College