College Knowledge: University of Redlands
A scenic campus, customizable majors, and a bulldog walking around the administrations office… what more could you want from the University of Redlands?
Photo Courtesy of Danielle Moran
Not only does the University of Redlands have beautiful architectural buildings throughout campus, but they’ve done a lovely job with their floral landscaping as well!
April 17, 2015
The University of Redlands is a Division III school, with around 4,431 students attending this year and the largest class seating only about 25 students. It is located in a beautiful suburban area of Redlands, California by the San Bernardino Mountains, on which sits the Redlands “R”- the second largest collegiate hillside letter in the nation. Right from the start, Redlands offers a friendly, fun community. They even have the school mascot, and president of the university’s pet, Thurber the Bulldog, frequenting the administrations office and hanging out around campus. If there’s one thing the students know for sure, it’s how to say, “Go Bulldogs!”
Redlands offers a variety of activities for students to participate in. There are sports teams, including 10 varsity girl teams and nine varsity boy teams, and more than 120 social groups and clubs. Greek life does exist but it is not dominant. The Greek houses are located fairly far away from campus, and there are no national fraternities/sororities, only local ones that are dedicated to specific volunteering projects. Many of the clubs also devote themselves to commitments of helping others. Community service is very important to the school and it is required of every student to achieve 80 hours of community service by the end of their senior year.
Another unique aspects of the University of Redlands are their six Centers of Distinction: the School of Music, the Truesdail Center for Communicative Disorders, the Banta Center for Business, Ethics, and Society, the Center for Educational Justice, the Center for Spatial Studies, and the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies. The Johnston Center is the university’s hallmark undergraduate programs and what stood out the most to me when I visited the school (besides Thurber the Bulldog). As a Johnston student, you customize and design your own major, forgo traditional grades, and create graduation contracts with your professors and fellow students. You are ultimately controlling your own education.
Now you get to decide… is the University of Redlands the school for you?
Believe it or not, this is not a postcard. Although the refreshing green and San Bernardino Mountains do make for a beautiful photo-opp.
