Berry College

Berry student life in the 1950s In 1902, Martha Berry, daughter of a prominent local business owner, founded the "Boys Industrial School" on 83 acres of land inherited from her father. In exchange for an education, students of the school would work to help build, run, and maintain the new school. In 1904, it became the first approved school of the Daughters of the American Revolution . [ 4 ] In 1909, the "Martha Berry School for Girls" was added, and collectively with the boys school, it came to be known as the Berry Schools. The free labor provided by the students helped to keep construction and operating costs for the schools low. In 1926, the school became a junior college and several years later, a senior college, graduating its first class in 1932. During the 1930s, the school campus grew to 30,000 acres, helped by a large donation from Henry Ford . In 1957, Berry College became accredited by the SACS . During the 1960s, Berry College began paying student workers instead of crediting accounts and ended mandatory religious services for students. [ 5 ]

Berry College offers Bachelor of Arts , Bachelor of Music , Bachelor of Science , Master of Business Administration , Master of Education , and Education Specialist degrees from the four schools making up its academic program. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The student-faculty ratio at Berry College is 11:1, and the school has 58.9% of its classes with fewer than 20 students, and 99.6% of its classes with fewer than 50 students. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 83%. U.S. News & World Report in its 2021 Best Colleges ranks Berry College #4 in Regional Universities South, #3 in Best Undergraduate Teaching, and #1 in Best Value Schools. [ 6 ] Undergraduate programs Berry offers degrees in the following schools: Campbell School of Business Charter School of Education and Human Sciences Evans School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences A minor degree can be obtained in 36 different courses of study throughout the four schools. Berry also offers an undergraduate degree in interdisciplinary studies .

Berry's Honors Program is an undergraduate program designed to give qualified students a chance to learn in an intellectually challenging environment with their peers and professors. The Honors Program allows the students to take Honors-only classes, Honorized classes, and to study abroad in Honors-only programs. During their last year at Berry, Honors students must complete and defend a senior thesis. Upon graduation, they receive an Honors diploma.

Berry offers a Master of Arts in Teaching program and an Education Specialist certification in the Charter School of Education and Human Sciences that is accredited by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCATE). The Campbell School of Business offers a Master of Business Administration program that is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).