PHC's academic program ranks highest among Protestant colleges in the nation

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) recently listed Patrick Henry College among seven schools—of the 1,134 they evaluated—to earn an "A+" rating  in accordance with their What Will They Learn?® rating system. Earlier this year, PHC was listed by College Cliffs as among the top 13 most conservative colleges in the U.S., also reflecting our robust Core Curriculum. 

"Our 'A+' schools are models of educational quality and pedagogical integrity," writes ACTA. "These institutions deserve the consideration of academically serious students and should serve as inspiration to educators seeking to make students’ college years some of the most rewarding and transformative years of their lives."

ACTA assigns the ratings by evaluating institutions against what they, in collaboration with the Council for Scholars, judge are the seven "foundational core" subjects of a liberal arts education: Composition, Literature, Foreign Language, U.S. Government or History, Economics, Mathematics, and Natural Science. 

After evaluating more than 1,100 colleges across the nation and judging curricula on an "A+"—"F" scale, they found that PHC is named among only seven colleges to earn an "A+" rating. "Each of these universities stands out for its rigorous curriculum and commitment to liberal arts education," ACTA said.

PHC has a robust, 63-credit Core Curriculum. Reflecting the ACTA's criterion, the Core includes classes in Rhetoric & Composition, Western Literature I & II, 4 classes in a modern or classical foreign language, History of Western Civilization I & II, History of the United States I & II, Constitutional Law, Economics for the Citizen, Euclidean Geometry, Physics and Physics Laboratory, Biology and Biology Laboratory.

Additionally, the PHC Core covers four other disciplines not reflected in the ACTA's rating but which we feel are imperative to a classical Christian education: theology, philosophy, logic, and fine arts. To that end the Core also includes Theology of the Bible I & II, Principles of Biblical Reasoning, Philosophy, Freedom's Foundations I & II, Recitation, and Music History & Appreciation. 

PHC is motivated by its commitment to high academic rigor, fidelity to the spirit of the American founding, and an unwavering biblical worldview. The fusion of these three commitments with the Christian Classical Liberal Arts Core Curriculum sets PHC apart from every other college in America, as it prepares students to make an immediate and enduring impact for Christ and for Liberty.

--

 Patrick Henry College exists to glorify God by challenging the status quo in higher education, lifting high both faith and reason within a rigorous academic environment; thereby preserving for posterity the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is the foundation of America.