Explore.
Collaborate.
Act.
At HWS, there's an intellectual community ready to help you gain the clarity and experience necessary to face the future with confidence.
Learn more about academicsExplore.
A Global Perspective
Your undergraduate journey begins in Geneva, but your HWS experience can take you across the globe. Joining the 60% of HWS students who study abroad, you will gain confidence, engage in new cultures and enhance your own worldview.
Life By the Lake
No matter how you'll define your HWS experience, it all starts on our beautiful lakeside campus. As a member of the Geneva community you will have the opportunity to live, learn and create change on a truly actionable scale.
You're Thinking About Your Future. So Are We.
Design your future with confidence. Shatter your expectations. Gain vital experience from internships and research opportunities (one of which is guaranteed); take action and make an impact through leadership opportunities; strengthen your network with alums and parents in successful careers.
Our Coordinate Mission
Founded as two separate colleges, Hobart for men in 1822 and William Smith for women in 1908, Hobart and William Smith Colleges preserve their own identities while benefitting from a shared campus, faculty, administration and curriculum. From the matriculation ceremonies at Orientation through the Hobart Launch and William Smith Alumnae Welcome at graduation, each College celebrates its own traditions and heritage. Hobart College and William Smith College also maintain their own deans, student governments and athletic departments. The coordinate mission provides students with a contemporary, 21st century construct to interrogate gender and difference.
Just the Facts
- The #3 study abroad program in the nation (Princeton Review)
- ROI Matters. HWS has one of the best according to Forbes
- 2nd in the nation for students who make an impact
- 13th in the nation for top rated professors
- Ranked one of the "100 Best Colleges for Sports Lovers"
- One of only 50 institutions celebrated for grads with outstanding outcomes
- Ranked #2 in the nation for community service (Washington Monthly)
- The HWS Guaranteed Internship
- Featured in the 2019 edition of Best Value Colleges
- 15th in the nation for best alumni network
- Lauded for value by Money and Kiplinger
Applying to HWS
Hobart and William Smith seek students with a passion for learning. We want you to expand your interests and see the world from multiple perspectives. You'll be guided along the way by faculty who have a passion for teaching and a desire to help you reach your goals.
Prior to college, we expect that you have chosen a rigorous high school curriculum and have applied your talents to the betterment of your school and community. We'll carefully review your application, transcript, essay and recommendations. Many of the characteristics we value are not well identified through examination of standardized test scores, therefore you will have the option of whether we use those scores (SAT or ACT) when you apply for admission to HWS.
