PENNSYLVANIA CONSORTIUM FOR THE LIBERAL ARTS (PCLA): THE UPPER CRUST OF PENNSYLVANIA’S PRIVATE COLLEGES

The Pennsylvania Consortium for the Liberal Arts is a coalition of the state’s premier private liberal arts colleges. The consortium (PCLA) fosters a collaborative approach to development of liberal arts curricula, common administrative issues and a single front for advocacy and lobbying on behalf of the sector.

---

ABOUT

Founded in 2014, the PCLA brings together a number of small, well-regarded, internationally renowned and highly selective liberal arts colleges from across the mid-Atlantic state of Pennsylvania. They are all private colleges.

The Pennsylvania Consortium for the Liberal Arts has a multifold mission: improving the educational offer available from the state’s most selective, private liberal arts colleges; fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing between the member institutions; presenting a united, cohesive body when representing the interests of the sector and the attractiveness of Pennsylvania liberal arts colleges as a preferred destination for top students; and acting as a lobbyist for the member institutions and the wider marketplace when engaging with state, federal or other regulators and bodies.

The association currently consists of eleven members (the ten founding schools and Lafayette College which joined in 2015), all of whom are accredited liberal arts colleges. They are amongst some of the best known and most selective colleges in the country, regularly featuring at the top of national rankings. The schools each consider themselves to be peers of one another, alongside other selective consortia, including the New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium (NY6) and the Selective Liberal Arts Consortium (SLAC). The member schools are regularly considered to be so-called “Little Ivies” (the liberal arts college equivalents and alternatives to the Ivy League) and most have featured as Colleges That Change Lives .

All PCLA colleges are also members of the Annapolis Group (an organisation founded by three PCLA members – Dickinson College, Franklin & Marshall and Gettysburg College) and most are members of the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges.

Presidency of the group rotates amongst the membership. Membership may vary so check with the PCLA for the latest details.

---

MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES

SELECT THE FIRST LETTER OF THE SCHOOL NAME BELOW OR CHOOSE LIST VIEW FOR A SIMPLE LIST OF ALL LISTED SCHOOLS. ALTERNATIVELY, YOU CAN SELECT SCHOOLS USING THE MAP BELOW.

---

---