Motto in English In serving, to exhaust Endowment $103.3 million (2013) Acceptance rate 71.9% (2014) Total enrollment 11,295 (2015) Graduation rate 30.9% (2014) | Established 1950 Undergraduate tuition and fees 17,766 USD (2015) Phone +1 877-637-2946 Mascot Mercy Mavericks | |
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Motto Inserviendo consumere (Latin) Type Private liberal arts college Affiliation Nonsectarian
(formerly Roman Catholic) Address 555 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522, USA Notable alumni Gabourey Sidibe, Mark Zuckerberg, Joan Wolf, Simone Forbes, Mookie Wilson Similar Molloy College, Pace University, Westchester Community College, College of New Rochelle, Iona College Profiles | ||
Mercy College (Mercy or Mercy NY) is a four-year, private, non-sectarian, non-profit liberal arts college with its main campus in Dobbs Ferry, New York, alongside the Hudson River, with additional locations in Manhattan, Bronx and Yorktown Heights.
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History
Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1950, Mercy College became a four-year college offering programs leading to the baccalaureate degree in 1961. The College was accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in 1968. In the next half-decade, Mercy College set a course for its future with a series of actions including declaring itself independent and co-educational. In addition, it doubled the size of the existing physical plant and initiated the first of many community outreach efforts. Mercy College in the 1970s broadened its outreach through the establishment of extension centers and branch campuses throughout communities in Westchester County and New York City.
Mercy College was authorized to offer its first graduate program, nursing, in 1981. Since then, 30 diverse graduate programs have been introduced, and in 2006, the College was granted authorization to offer its first doctoral program in physical therapy. The College expanded its offerings to include online programs in the 1990s, and was soon granted the ability to offer entire degree programs online. Thousands of Mercy College students take one or all of their courses online through the more than 40 undergraduate and graduate programs offered.
Academic programs
The College has five schools: Business, Education, Health & Natural Sciences, Liberal Arts and Social & Behavioral Sciences—and offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, including more than two dozen that can be completed online.
The faculty comprises 210 full-time professors with a significant majority holding the highest degree in their respective fields, Fulbright Scholars, published and national best-selling authors, and experts.
Mercy College runs the Personalized Achievement Contract (PACT) Program, a mentoring program that aims to maximize students’ success through comprehensive collaboration between students and professional mentors, and to address the national agenda to raise the number of college graduates in America. PACT students are provided professional mentors who facilitate integrated support for academic, career, and personal growth. Together, student and mentor create a customized plan.
Mercy offers an Honors Program for high achieving students.
Notable features across the five schools are:
Student population and class size
The undergraduate population includes 7,157 full-time and 2,942 part-time students with 31 percent of freshmen and 12 percent of all full-time undergraduates residing in campus-affiliated housing. While the majority of students are New York residents, students represent 43 states and 54 countries. Mercy College offers small class sizes with an average student/faculty ratio of 20:1. 88% of students are commuters; 12% live in campus housing. Mercy College has 71% female students and 29% male students.
Accreditation
Mercy College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The College holds professional accreditations with:
Location
Mercy College’s main campus encompasses 55 acres alongside the Hudson River in Dobbs Ferry, New York, a suburb of Westchester County, 25 miles north of New York City. In addition to academic and administrative buildings, it houses the College’s residence and athletics programs. Dobbs Ferry students enjoy all the nearby shopping and restaurants, just steps from campus, as well as biking, jogging or walk along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail that runs through campus. A Metro-North train station, located on campus, makes New York City accessible in less than 30 minutes. In December 2015, the College opened a 350-bed, state-of-the-art residence hall and student commons. The Manhattan Campus is situated in the heart of Manhattan at Herald Square. The Bronx Campus occupies 125,000 square feet at the Hutchinson Metro Center, a rapidly developing complex of corporate and health care organizations and businesses. In Yorktown Heights, students have access to Northern Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Dutchess and Fairfield Counties. The Campus is close to Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park, which offers extensive outdoor recreational activities.
Athletics
Mercy College sponsors an intramural sports program as well as intercollegiate competition in 10 varsity teams compete at the Division II level. The College is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Coast Conference (ECC). Varsity men’s programs include baseball, basketball, lacrosse and soccer. Women’s athletic teams compete in basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball. The baseball, lacrosse, soccer and field hockey teams, in addition to numerous local community high school and youth groups, play on a new, eco-friendly turf field on the Dobbs Ferry campus, overlooking the Hudson River.
In 2007 the college changed its athletic nickname from "Flyers" to "Mavericks" after the administration reviewed and narrowed suggestions from students and faculty members.
Alumni
Mercy College has more than 57,000 alumni.