Swarthmore College

File:Parrish Hall.jpg (1822–1872), contains the admissions, housing and financial aid offices, along with student housing on the upper floors]]

File:Alice Paul and David Kemp at night 08.jpg Housing Awards in 2010.{{cite news |title=AIA Housing Awards 2010 |url=http://www.architectureweek.com/2010/0512/news_1-2.html |access-date=January 25, 2020 |work=ArchitectureWeek |date=December 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125040710/http://www.architectureweek.com/2010/0512/news_1-2.html |archive-date=January 25, 2020 |url-status=live }}]]

The name "Swarthmore" has its roots in early Quaker history. In England, Swarthmoor Hall near the town of Ulverston, Cumbria, (previously in Lancashire), was the home of Thomas and Margaret Fell in 1652 when George Fox, fresh from his epiphany atop Pendle Hill in 1651, came to visit. The visitation turned into a long association, as Fox persuaded the couple of his views. Swarthmore was used for the first meetings of what became known as the Religious Society of Friends (later colloquially labeled "The Quakers").

The college was founded in 1864 by Deborah Fisher Wharton, along with her industrialist son, Joseph Wharton, together with a committee of members of the Hicksite Yearly Meetings of Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore. It is the only college founded by the Hicksite branch of the Society of Friends: previous Quaker institutions, like nearby Haverford College, were Orthodox in their founding history. Swarthmore held its first classes in 1869 and Edward Parrish (1822–1872) was the first president. Lucretia Mott (1793–1880) and Martha Ellicott Tyson (1795–1873){{cite web|url=http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/educ/exhibits/womenshall/html/tyson.html|title=Maryland Women's Hall of Fame: Martha Ellicott Tyson|publisher=Maryland State Archives|access-date=March 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707035753/http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/educ/exhibits/womenshall/html/tyson.html|archive-date=July 7, 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/bios/Wharton__Joseph|title=Joseph Wharton|publisher=Pennsylvania Center for the Book|access-date=August 25, 2021|archive-date=August 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825154005/https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/bios/Wharton__Joseph|url-status=live}} were among those Friends who insisted that the new college of Swarthmore be coeducational. Edward Hicks Magill, the second president, served for 17 years.Margaret Hope Bacon (1980), "Valiant Friend: The Life of Lucretia Mott", page 199, {{ISBN|1-888305-09-6}} His daughter, Helen Magill, (1853–1944), was in the first class to graduate in 1873; in 1877, she was the first woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D.{{cite web|url=http://www.bu.edu/wgs/community/womens-studies-family/|title=Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Faculty » Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program – Boston University|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012035256/http://www.bu.edu/wgs/community/womens-studies-family/|archive-date=October 12, 2013|access-date=January 23, 2014}}

In the early 1900s, the college had a major collegiate American football program during the formation period of the soon-to-be nationwide sport (playing Navy, Princeton, Columbia and other larger schools) and an active fraternity and sorority life.{{cite book

|title=The Distinctive College

|last=Clark

|first=Burton R.

|publisher=Transaction Publishers

|year=2007

|isbn=978-1-56000-592-6

|pages=179–183

|orig-year=1970

}} The 1921 appointment of Frank Aydelotte as president began the development of the school's current academic focus, particularly with his vision for the Honors program based on his experience as a Rhodes Scholar.{{cite book|title=The Distinctive College|last=Clark|first=Burton R.|publisher=Transaction Publishers|year=2007|isbn=978-1-56000-592-6|pages=185–192|orig-year=1970}}

During World War II, Swarthmore was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program, which offered students a path to a U.S. Navy commission.{{cite web|url=http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2010/02/19/swarthmore-at-war-part-1/|title=Daily Gazette|year=2011|publisher=Swarthmore, Pennsylvania: Swarthmore College|access-date=September 29, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121214235810/http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2010/02/19/swarthmore-at-war-part-1/|archive-date=December 14, 2012|url-status=live}}

Wolfgang Köhler, Hans Wallach, and Solomon Asch were noted psychologists who became professors at Swarthmore, a center for Gestalt psychology. Both Wallach, who was Jewish, and Köhler, who was not, had left Nazi Germany because of its discriminatory policies. Köhler came to Swarthmore in 1935 and served until his retirement in 1958. Wallach came in 1936, first as a researcher, also teaching from 1942 until 1975. Asch joined the faculty in 1947 and served until 1966, conducting his noted conformity experiments at Swarthmore.{{cite web|url=http://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html|title=Asch Experiment|access-date=May 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227222524/https://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html|archive-date=December 27, 2019|url-status=live}}

The 1960s and 1970s saw the construction of new buildings: Sharples Dining Hall in 1964, Worth Health Center in 1965, the Dana/Hallowell Residence Halls in 1967, and Lang Music Building in 1973. They also saw a 1967 review of the college initiated by President Courtney Smith, a black protest movement, in which African-American students conducted an eight-day sit-in in the admissions office in 1969 to demand increased black enrollment – the sit-in abruptly ended after Smith's death from a heart attack on January 16{{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/swarthmore-college-presidents/courtney-c-smith|title=Courtney C. Smith, 1953–1969|publisher=Swarthmore College|accessdate=August 31, 2024}}{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1969/01/17/archives/head-of-swarthmore-dies-during-protest-school-head-dies-during-a.html|title=Head of Swarthmore Dies During Protest|work=New York Times|page=1|date=January 17, 1969|accessdate=August 31, 2024}} – and the establishment of both a Black Cultural Center (1970) and Women's Resource Center (1974).{{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/timeline/1969-black-student-protest-movement|title=1969 black student protest movement|publisher=Swarthmore College|access-date=April 7, 2018|date=June 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408073416/https://www.swarthmore.edu/timeline/1969-black-student-protest-movement|archive-date=April 8, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/timeline/1975-alice-paul-05-and-womens-center|title=1975 Alice Paul '05 and the women's center|publisher=Swarthmore College|access-date=April 7, 2018|date=June 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408010428/https://www.swarthmore.edu/timeline/1975-alice-paul-05-and-womens-center|archive-date=April 8, 2018|url-status=live}} The Environmental Studies program and the Intercultural Center were established in 1992, and in 1993 the Lang Performing Arts Center was opened; the Kohlberg Hall was then established in 1996.

In 1999 the college began purchasing renewable energy credits in the form of wind power, and in the 2002–2003 academic year it constructed its first green roof. In 2008, Swarthmore's first mascot, Phineas the Phoenix, made its debut.

File:Swarthmore College Observatory.jpg

Swarthmore's Oxbridge tutorial-inspired Honors Program, introduced in 1922,{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Ruth Shoemaker |title=Transforming campus culture : Frank Aydelotte's honors experiment at Swarthmore College |date=2012 |publisher=University of Delaware Press |isbn=978-1-61149-371-9 |location=Newark|oclc=744296891}} allows students to take double-credit seminars from their third year, and they often write honors theses.{{Cite journal |last=Pennock |first=J. Roland |date=1953 |title=The Swarthmore Honors System |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1976961 |journal=The Journal of Higher Education |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=57–106 |doi=10.2307/1976961 |jstor=1976961 }} Seminars are usually composed of four to eight students. Students in seminars will usually write at least three 10-page papers per seminar, and often one of these papers is expanded into a 20–30-page paper by the end of the seminar. At the end of their final year, Honors students take oral and written examinations conducted by outside experts in their field. Usually one student in each discipline is awarded "Highest Honors"; others are either awarded "High Honors" or "Honors"; rarely, a student is denied Honors altogether by the outside examiner. Each department usually has a grade threshold for admission to the Honors program.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/honors-program|title=Honors Program :: Swarthmore College|website=www.swarthmore.edu|language=en|access-date=April 27, 2017|date=July 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428142552/http://www.swarthmore.edu/honors-program|archive-date=April 28, 2017|url-status=live}}

Uncommon for a liberal arts college, Swarthmore has an engineering program in which, at the completion of four years' work, students are granted a B.S. in engineering. Other notable programs include minors in peace and conflict studies, cognitive science and interpretation theory.{{cite web|url=http://www.har.com/selective-liberal-arts-colleges--information-session-and-visit/event_E0-001-093360433-8|title=Selective Liberal Arts Colleges – Information Session and Visit |website=Homes And Rentals – HAR.com|language=en|access-date=April 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428142550/http://www.har.com/selective-liberal-arts-colleges--information-session-and-visit/event_E0-001-093360433-8|archive-date=April 28, 2017|url-status=live}}

Swarthmore has an undergraduate student enrollment of 1,620 (for the 2016–2017 year) and 187 faculty members (99% with a terminal degree), for a student-faculty ratio of 8:1. The small college offers more than 600 courses per year in over 40 courses of study.

Its most popular majors, based on 2021 graduates, were:{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=swarthmore&s=all&id=216287#programs |website=nces.ed.gov |publisher=U.S. Dept of Education |title=Swarthmore College |access-date=February 18, 2023}}

• Economics (53)
• Biology/Biological Sciences (37)
• Computer & Information Sciences (36)
• Engineering (23)
• Mathematics (18)
• Research & Experimental Psychology (16)

{{Infobox US university ranking

| Forbes = 27

| THE_WSJ = 11

| USNWR_LA = 3

| Wamo_LA = 4

}}

Some sources, including Greene's Guides,Greene, Howard and Matthew Greene (2000) Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning: The Hidden Ivies: Thirty Colleges of Excellence, HarperCollins, {{ISBN|0-06-095362-4}}, excerpt at [http://www.harpercollins.com/global_scripts/product_catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0060953624&tc=cx HarperCollins.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050321143927/http://www.harpercollins.com/global_scripts/product_catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0060953624&tc=cx |date=March 21, 2005 }} have termed Swarthmore one of the "Little Ivies". In its 2025 college ranking, U.S. News & World Report ranked Swarthmore as the third-best liberal arts college in the nation, behind Williams and Amherst.{{cite web |title=U.S. News College Rankings |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges |access-date=September 25, 2024}} Since the inception of the U.S. News rankings, Amherst, Williams and Swarthmore are the only colleges to have been ranked for the number one liberal arts college. Swarthmore has been ranked the number one liberal arts college in the country six times.[http://chronicle.com/stats/usnews/index.php?category=Liberal+Arts+Colleges "Liberal Arts College rankings"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413004239/http://chronicle.com/stats/usnews/index.php?category=Liberal+Arts+Colleges |date=April 13, 2012 }}, Chronicle of Higher Education

Forbes magazine ranked Swarthmore 27th in its 2024-25 ranking of the top 500 U.S. colleges, universities and service academies .{{cite web |title=America's Top Colleges |url=https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/list/#tab:rank |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810053444/http://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/list/#tab:rank |archive-date=August 10, 2016 |access-date=February 19, 2025 |magazine=Forbes}}

Swarthmore ranked third among all institutions of higher education in the United States as measured by the percentage of graduates who went on to earn Ph.D.s between 2013 and 2022.{{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/institutional-effectiveness-research-assessment/doctorates-awarded|title=Weighted Baccalaureate Origins Study, This shows baccalaureate origins of people granted Ph.D.s from 2013 to 2022. The listing shows institutions ranked by percentage of graduates who go on to earn a Ph.D. in selected disciplines|publisher=Swarthmore.edu|access-date=September 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606194007/https://www.swarthmore.edu/institutional-effectiveness-research-assessment/doctorates-awarded|archive-date=June 6, 2023|url-status=live}}

In 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013,{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/02/05/princeton-review-best-value-colleges-interactive/1890969/|title=2013 Princeton Review 150 Best Value Colleges|date=February 5, 2013|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=February 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220003212/http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/02/05/princeton-review-best-value-colleges-interactive/1890969/|archive-date=February 20, 2013|url-status=live}} Swarthmore was named the #1 "Best Value" private college by The Princeton Review.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/education/best-value-colleges.htm|title=Best Value Colleges for 2010 and how they were chosen|date=January 12, 2010|work=USA Today|access-date=May 24, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522020646/http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/best-value-colleges.htm|archive-date=May 22, 2010|url-status=live}} Overall selection criteria included more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs and financial aid. Swarthmore was also placed on The Princeton Review{{'s}} Financial Aid Honor Roll along with twelve other institutions for receiving the highest possible rating in its ranking methodology.{{cite web|url=http://www.princetonreview.com/financial-aid-rating-press-release.aspx|title=Financial Aid Rating Press Release|date=August 2, 2010|publisher=Princetonreview.com|access-date=March 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110323072029/http://www.princetonreview.com/financial-aid-rating-press-release.aspx|archive-date=March 23, 2011|url-status=live}}

{{Infobox U.S. college admissions

|year = 2022

|ref = {{cite web |title=Common Data Set |url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/institutional-effectiveness-research-assessment/common-data-set |publisher=Swarthmore College |access-date=26 September 2023 |language=en |date=8 July 2014}}

|change ref =

|admit rate = 6.9%

|admit rate change = -3.8

|yield rate = 42%

|yield rate change = +3

|test optional = recent

|SAT EBRW = 710–770

|SAT EBRW change = +20

|SAT Math = 730–790

|SAT Math change = +20

|ACT = 32–35

|ACT change = +1

|top decile = 89%

|top decile change = -2

|top quarter = 100%

|top quarter change = +1

|top half = 100%

|top half change = 0

}}

The college is considered by U.S. News & World Report as "most selective", with 10.7% of the 9,383 applicants accepted during the 2016–2017 admissions cycle.{{cite web|title=2017 Fact Sheet|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/admissions-aid/2017%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf|publisher=Swarthmore College|access-date=September 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914125508/http://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/admissions-aid/2017%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf|archive-date=September 14, 2017|url-status=live}} The number of applicants was the highest in the college's history and among the highest overall of any liberal arts college.{{Cite news|url=https://www.pomona.edu/news/2017/03/17-pomona-college-receives-record-breaking-number-applications-class-2021|title=Pomona College Receives Record-Breaking Number of Applications for the Class of 2021|date=March 16, 2017|work=Pomona College in Claremont, California|access-date=August 19, 2017|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803130147/https://www.pomona.edu/news/2017/03/17-pomona-college-receives-record-breaking-number-applications-class-2021|archive-date=August 3, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.wellesley.edu/news/2017/node/114856#UBAPX3Fy0YSY3Xhq.97|title=Meet the Record-Setting Wellesley College Class of 2021|website=Wellesley College|language=en|access-date=August 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820035010/http://www.wellesley.edu/news/2017/node/114856#UBAPX3Fy0YSY3Xhq.97|archive-date=August 20, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://wesleyanargus.com/2017/03/30/class-of-2021-wesleyan-record-low-acceptance-rate/|title=Class of 2021 Sees Record Low Acceptance Rate|website=The Wesleyan Argus|date=March 30, 2017 |access-date=August 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819103524/http://wesleyanargus.com/2017/03/30/class-of-2021-wesleyan-record-low-acceptance-rate/|archive-date=August 19, 2017|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://communications.williams.edu/news-releases/3_23_2017_admittedstudents/|title=Williams College Admits 1,253 Students to Class of 2021|work=Office of Communications|access-date=August 19, 2017|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820073911/https://communications.williams.edu/news-releases/3_23_2017_admittedstudents/|archive-date=August 20, 2017|url-status=live}} The college saw increases in the number of underrepresented students, first-generation college students, and international students. The college reports that "Twenty-five percent of the admitted students are among the first generation in their family to attend college" and "Of the admitted students attending high schools reporting class rank, 94 percent are in the top decile".{{cite web|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/960-students-admitted-to-swarthmore-class-2021|title=960 Students Admitted to Swarthmore Class of 2021 :: News & Events :: Swarthmore College|website=www.swarthmore.edu|language=en|access-date=August 19, 2017|date=March 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819234030/http://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/960-students-admitted-to-swarthmore-class-2021|archive-date=August 19, 2017|url-status=live}} The class of 2022 admissions statistics have been fully released, where 13,012 applicants resulted in 1013 admits for an admit rate of 7.78%.{{Cite web|date=2023-08-20|title=Swarthmore by the Numbers|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/meet-swarthmore/swarthmore-numbers|access-date=2023-08-20|website=www.swarthmore.edu|language=en|archive-date=February 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217055842/https://www.swarthmore.edu/meet-swarthmore/swarthmore-numbers|url-status=live}}

In 2012, The Princeton Review gave Swarthmore a 99 out of 99 on their Admissions Selectivity Rating.{{cite web|url=http://www.princetonreview.com/schools/college/CollegeAdmissions.aspx?iid=1024057|title=Test Prep: GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, SAT, ACT, and More|publisher=Theprincetonreview.com|access-date=February 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330170018/http://www.princetonreview.com/schools/college/CollegeAdmissions.aspx?iid=1024057|archive-date=March 30, 2014|url-status=live}}

At Swarthmore, 15% of earners of undergraduate degrees immediately enter graduate or professional school, and, within five years of graduation, 75% of alumni enter these programs. Alumni of the school earn graduate degrees most commonly at institutions that include Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, Princeton University, Brown University, the University of Cambridge, Columbia University and the University of Chicago.{{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/career-services/post-graduation-statistics|title=Post Graduation Statistics|website=www.swarthmore.edu|date=July 8, 2014 |access-date=March 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021031116/https://www.swarthmore.edu/career-services/post-graduation-statistics|archive-date=October 21, 2021|url-status=live}} At graduate programs, the most common fields for Swarthmore graduates to enter are math & physical sciences, humanities, social sciences, life sciences and engineering.

PayScale reports that Swarthmore graduates have an average starting salary of $70,800 and an average mid-career salary of $142,900, making their salaries the 31st highest among all college and university graduates with only a bachelor's. This puts them above larger institutions such as Vanderbilt, Brown and Johns Hopkins—ranked 70th, 33rd and 95th, respectively. Swarthmore is also ninth among liberal arts colleges alone.{{cite web|url=http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/bachelors|title=Highest Salary College Rankings by School|access-date=September 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914202430/https://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/bachelors|archive-date=September 14, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/best-schools-by-type/bachelors/liberal-arts-schools|title=Best Liberal Arts Colleges with Highest Paid Graduates|access-date=September 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914192339/https://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/best-schools-by-type/bachelors/liberal-arts-schools|archive-date=September 14, 2017|url-status=live}}

As a need-blind school, Swarthmore makes admission decisions and financial aid decisions independently.{{cite web |title=Applying Is Affordable |url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/admissions-aid/applying-affordable |publisher=Swarthmore College |access-date=4 May 2023 |language=en |date=26 October 2016}} The cost of tuition, student activity fees, room and board for the 2024–25 academic year was $85,802 (tuition fees were $65,058).{{cite web |date=July 8, 2014 |title=Tuition, Room, and Board Fees :: Student Accounts Office :: Swarthmore College |url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/student-accounts-office/tuition-housing-and-food-fees |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803161924/http://www.swarthmore.edu/student-accounts-office/tuition-room-and-board-fees |archive-date=August 3, 2017 |access-date=August 4, 2017 |website=www.swarthmore.edu}} The college meets 100% of admitted student demonstrated need without use of student loans, an important distinction from the many schools that meet 100% of demonstrated need, but only through loans (which must be repaid) rather than institutional grant- and scholarship-based funding (which does not require repayment). Financial aid is accessed by 56% of the student body, and the average financial aid award was $50,361 during the 2017–18 year.

Swarthmore has the eleventh largest endowment per undergraduate in the country. Operating revenue for the 2016 fiscal year was $148,086,000, over 50% of which was provided by the endowment. Swarthmore ended a $230 million capital campaign on October 6, 2006, when President Bloom declared the project completed, three months ahead of schedule. The campaign, christened the "Meaning of Swarthmore", had been underway officially since the fall of 2001. Out of the college's alumni, 87% participated in the effort. Swarthmore's endowment at the end of the 2019 fiscal year was $2.13 billion. Endowment per student was $1,370,157 for the same year, one of the highest rates in the country.As of June 30, 2021 {{cite report |url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/finance-and-investment-office |title=Finance and Investment Office, Swarthmore College |access-date=January 11, 2022 |date= |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112011420/https://www.swarthmore.edu/finance-and-investment-office |url-status=live }}

At the end of 2007, the Swarthmore Board of Managers approved the decision for the college to eliminate student loans from all financial aid packages. Instead, additional aid scholarships are granted.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/x16525.xml|title=Swarthmore College :: Financial Aid :: More about Swarthmore's Expanded Financial Aid Program|date=December 8, 2007|publisher=Swarthmore.edu|access-date=December 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313223321/http://www.swarthmore.edu/x16525.xml|archive-date=March 13, 2012|url-status=dead}}

File:Swarthmore Parrish Hall.jpg

The campus consists of {{Cvt|425|acre|km2}}, based on a north–south axis anchored by Parrish Hall, which houses numerous administrative offices and student lounges, as well as two floors of student housing. The fourth floor houses campus radio station WSRN-FM as well as the weekly student newspaper, The Phoenix.

From the SEPTA Swarthmore commuter train station and the borough of Swarthmore to the south, the oak-lined Magill Walk leads north up a hill to Parrish. The campus is coterminous with the grounds of the Scott Arboretum, cited by some as a main staple of the campus's renowned beauty.{{cite web|url=http://www.greaterphiladelphiagardens.org/press.asp?PressReleaseID=33|title=Press Releases from|publisher=Greater Philadelphia Gardens|access-date=March 24, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726131755/http://www.greaterphiladelphiagardens.org/press.asp?PressReleaseID=33|archive-date=July 26, 2011}} In 2011, Travel + Leisure named Swarthmore one of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States.{{Cite web|url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/americas-most-beautiful-college-campuses|title=America's Most Beautiful College Campuses|website=Travel + Leisure|access-date=October 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608184511/https://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/americas-most-beautiful-college-campuses|archive-date=June 8, 2019|url-status=live}}

The majority of the buildings housing classrooms and department offices are located to the north of Parrish, as are Kyle and Woolman dormitories. McCabe Library is to the east of Parrish, as are the dorms Willets, Mertz, Worth, The Lodges, Alice Paul and David Kemp. To the west are the dorms Wharton, Dana, Hallowell and Danawell, along with the Scott Amphitheater, an open wooded outdoor amphitheater, in which graduations and college collections (meetings) are held. The Crum Woods extend westward from the main campus, and many buildings on the forest side of the campus incorporate views of the woods. South of Parrish is the Dining Center, attached to the former Sharples dining hall, and other smaller buildings. Dormitories Palmer, Pittenger, Roberts, and the NPPR Apartments are south of the railroad station,{{Cite web |date=2018-11-08 |title=Residential Communities |url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/living-swarthmore/residential-communities |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=www.swarthmore.edu |language=en}} as are the athletic facilities, while the Mary Lyon dorm is off-campus to the southwest.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/visitordash/campus_map.pdf|title=Visitors|access-date=June 3, 2015|date=July 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304102314/http://www.swarthmore.edu/visitordash/campus_map.pdf|archive-date=March 4, 2012|url-status=live}}

The college has three main libraries (McCabe Library, the Cornell Library of Science and Engineering, and the Underhill Music and Dance Library) and seven other specialized collections.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/x4593.xml|title=Libraries|access-date=June 3, 2015|date=July 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101071802/http://www.swarthmore.edu/x4593.xml|archive-date=November 1, 2011|url-status=live}}

Friends Historical Library was established in 1871 to collect, preserve and make available archival, manuscript, printed and visual records concerning the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) from their origins mid-seventeenth century to the present. Besides the focus on Quaker history, the holdings are a significant research collection for the regional and local history of the middle-Atlantic region of the United States and the history of American social reform. Quakers played prominent roles in almost every major reform movement in American history, including abolition, African-American history, Indian rights, women's rights, prison reform, humane treatment of the mentally ill, and temperance. The collections also reflect the significant role Friends played in the development of science, technology, education and business in Britain and America. The library also maintains the Swarthmore College Archives and the papers of the Swarthmore Historical Society.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/friends-historical-library|title=Friends Historical Library :: Swarthmore College|website=www.swarthmore.edu|language=en|access-date=April 27, 2017|date=July 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420182602/https://www.swarthmore.edu/friends-historical-library|archive-date=April 20, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://swarthmorehistoricalsociety.org/|title=Swarthmore Historical Society|website=Swarthmore Historical Society|language=en-US|access-date=April 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429000317/http://swarthmorehistoricalsociety.org/|archive-date=April 29, 2017|url-status=live}}

Within the archives is what was formerly known as the Jane Addams Peace Collection and later called the Swarthmore College Peace Collection (SCPC).{{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/library/peace/DG051-099/dg051brinton.htm|title=Ellen Starr Brinton Papers (DG 051)|date=June 22, 2016|website=Swarthmore College Peace Collection|access-date=August 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016220744/http://www.swarthmore.edu/library/peace/DG051-099/dg051brinton.htm|archive-date=October 16, 2017|url-status=live}} The SCPC includes papers from Jane Addams' collection and material from over 59 countries.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13297203/|title=Library Possesses Rare Resources|last=Skidmore|first=Arden|date=April 25, 1964|work=Delaware County Daily Times|access-date=August 23, 2017|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706034252/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13297203/delaware-county-daily-times/|url-status=live}} The Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to Addams, is part of the collection. The SCPC states that "Well over fifty percent of all the holdings in the Peace Collection concern women's activism around the world."{{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/library/peace/Exhibits/Internationalwomen.html|title=Women's Voices From Around the World, Swarthmore College Peace Collection|publisher=Swarthmore College|access-date=May 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510030016/http://www.swarthmore.edu/library/peace/Exhibits/Internationalwomen.html|archive-date=May 10, 2018|url-status=live}} The SCPC was started when Lucy Biddle Lewis, a member of the board of managers, discovered that Addams was burning her old papers, and convinced her to donate them instead to the Friends Historical Library.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13297441/|title=Archives Take in Peace Unit Papers|date=April 25, 1964|work=Delaware County Daily Times|access-date=August 23, 2017|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706034252/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13297441/delaware-county-daily-times/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=Shenker |first=Israel |date=1978-11-07 |title=Peace Causes Are Enshrined At Swarthmore |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/07/archives/peace-causes-are-enshrined-at-swarthmore-husbands-story-on-file.html |access-date=2023-01-19 |issn=0362-4331}} After World War II, the librarian at Princeton University, Julian P. Boyd, appraised the papers in the SCPC's collection and found that they were of "rare historic value".{{Cite journal|last=Brinton|first=Ellen|title=The Swarthmore College Peace Collection—A Memorial to Jane Addams|journal=The American Archivist|volume=10|issue=1|pages=35–39|doi=10.17723/aarc.10.1.h5242738647x65t8|year=1947|doi-access=free}}

One thousand six hundred and forty-seven students (colloquially referred to as "Swatties") attend Swarthmore {{as of|2018|lc=y}}. The median family income of Swatties is $165,500, with 53% of students coming from the top 10% highest-earning families and 18.2% from the bottom 60%.{{cite news |last1=Aisch |first1=Gregor |last2=Buchanan |first2=Larry |last3=Cox |first3=Amanda |last4=Quealy |first4=Kevin |title=Economic diversity and student outcomes at Swarthmore |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/swarthmore-college |access-date=9 August 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=18 January 2017 |archive-date=April 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417115326/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/swarthmore-college |url-status=live }}

Founded in 2000,{{cite web|url=https://daily.swarthmore.edu/2001/02/02/friday-february-2-2001/|title=Friday, February 2, 2001 – The Daily Gazette|date=February 2, 2001|access-date=April 11, 2017|archive-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706034331/https://daily.swarthmore.edu/2001/02/02/friday-february-2-2001/|url-status=live}} the Swarthmore mock trial team placed tenth at the 2000 American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) National Championship Tournament and was awarded "Best New School". Dennis Cheng '01 was awarded the prestigious "Spirit of AMTA" award in 2000.{{cite web|url=http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2000/04/06/thursday-april-6-2000/|title=Thursday, April 6, 2000 – The Daily Gazette|date=April 6, 2000|access-date=April 11, 2017|archive-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706034252/http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2000/04/06/thursday-april-6-2000/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://bulletin.swarthmore.edu/bulletin-issue-archive/wp-content/archived_issues_pdf/Bulletin_2001_06.pdf |title=c1+c4swar |access-date=May 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412063252/http://bulletin.swarthmore.edu/bulletin-issue-archive/wp-content/archived_issues_pdf/Bulletin_2001_06.pdf |archive-date=April 12, 2017 |url-status=live }} Swarthmore's team placed second at the 2001 AMTA National Championship Tournament. The Swarthmore Mock Trial program has also won numerous accolades and boasted a team of over 25 members for the 2013–2014 season. The 2010–2011 competitive season resulted in all three teams competing at Regional Championships, two teams going on to Opening Round Championships, and one team qualifying and competing at the 2011 National Championships held in Des Moines, Iowa, where the team placed 15th in their division. Other successes included placing first at the Philadelphia Regional competition in February 2011, and winning the University of Massachusetts Amherst's invitational tournament in February 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/news-archive-2009-2011/mock-trial-team-advances-to-national-semifinal-competition|title=Mock Trial Team Advances to National Semifinal Competition :: News Archive 2009–2011 :: Swarthmore College|website=www.swarthmore.edu|language=en|access-date=April 27, 2017|date=March 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428142530/http://www.swarthmore.edu/news-archive-2009-2011/mock-trial-team-advances-to-national-semifinal-competition|archive-date=April 28, 2017|url-status=live}}

File:Phi Chapter of Phi Sigma Kappa at Swarthmore, The Signet, Jan 1944, vol.XXXVI, No.1, p.7.jpg

Until 2019, two Greek organizations existed on the campus in the form of fraternities: Delta Upsilon and local Phi Psi, a former chapter of Phi Kappa Psi. A third, Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, maintained a chapter on campus from 1906 to 1991 and continues strong alumni involvement.{{Citation|last1=Rand|first1=Frank Prentice|title=All The Phi Sigs — A History|year=1993|last2=Watts|last3=Sefton|first2=Ralph|first3=James E.|publisher=Grand Chapter of Phi Sigma Kappa}}{{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/a-message-president-valerie-smith|title=A Message From President Valerie Smith|publisher=Swarthmore College|date=May 1, 2019|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501072745/https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/a-message-president-valerie-smith|archive-date=May 1, 2019|url-status=live}}

Sororities were abandoned in the 1930s following student outrage about discrimination within the sorority system, and leading to a 79-year ban.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/news/history/1933.html|title=Discrimination in the sorority system|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070419163605/http://www.swarthmore.edu/news/history/1933.html|archive-date=April 19, 2007}}[http://www.swarthmorephoenix.com/?p=6702 Kappa Alpha Theta chapter Official at Swarthmore | The Phoenix] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211054758/http://www.swarthmorephoenix.com/?p=6702 |date=February 11, 2013 }}. Swarthmorephoenix.com (April 3, 2014). Retrieved on 2014-04-12. However, in September 2012, the college announced that the ban on sororities would be reversed as of the 2013 term, citing Title IX regulations.{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/pennsylvania-college-brings-back-sororities-after-79-year-ban/|title=Pennsylvania college brings back sororities after 79-year ban|date=September 28, 2012|publisher=Fox News|location=New York|access-date=September 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928172301/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/28/pennsylvania-college-brings-back-sororities-after-7-year-ban/|archive-date=September 28, 2012|url-status=live}} The four women who helped overturn the ban subsequently spearheaded the reestablishment of a Kappa Alpha Theta chapter the following spring.{{cite web|url=http://articles.philly.com/2012-03-25/news/31236934_1_sororities-swarthmore-college-student-newspapers|title=Reversing an old ban on sororities at Swarthmore|website=philly-archives|access-date=April 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418192107/http://articles.philly.com/2012-03-25/news/31236934_1_sororities-swarthmore-college-student-newspapers|archive-date=April 18, 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/28/14134347-sororities-to-return-to-swarthmore-college-for-first-time-in-80-years?lite|title=Sororities to return to Swarthmore College for first time in 80 years|work=NBC News|access-date=April 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426082648/http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/28/14134347-sororities-to-return-to-swarthmore-college-for-first-time-in-80-years?lite|archive-date=April 26, 2016|url-status=live}} The announcement sparked controversy on campus; a petition seeking a referendum to continue the ban was dismissed, again citing a legal opinion that to disallow the sorority chapter would be a violation of Title IX regulations. The sorority admitted its first pledge class in the Spring of 2013. A further non-binding referendum was later distributed, but by then the controversy had cooled: Of the six items on the referendum, only one passed, which asked "Do you support admitting students of all genders to sororities and fraternities?" No action was taken on the referendum.[http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2013/02/26/17685/ StuCo Report: Referendum Not Binding | Daily Gazette] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130626181103/http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2013/02/26/17685/ |date=June 26, 2013 }}. Daily.swarthmore.edu (February 26, 2013). Retrieved on 2014-04-12.

In April 2019, two student publications, Voices and The Phoenix, published leaked minutes from Swarthmore's chapter of Phi Psi dating from 2013 to 2016. The 116-page document contained a plethora of misogynistic, racist, and homophobic jokes and slurs as well as pornographic images and evidence of hazing.{{cite news|url=https://voices.swarthmore.edu/content-1/2019/4/17/phi-psi-historical-archives-leaked-amidst-campus-tensions-around-fraternities-86plg|date=April 18, 2019|publisher=Voices|location=Swarthmore, Pennsylvania|access-date=April 29, 2019|title=Archived copy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430032248/https://voices.swarthmore.edu/content-1/2019/4/17/phi-psi-historical-archives-leaked-amidst-campus-tensions-around-fraternities-86plg|archive-date=April 30, 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://swarthmorephoenix.com/2019/04/18/47956/|date=April 18, 2019|publisher=The Phoenix|location=Swarthmore, Pennsylvania|access-date=April 29, 2019|title=Cult of Misogyny: Leaked Internal Documents Reveal Silence Around Harmful Culture at Phi Psi – the Phoenix|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429222044/https://swarthmorephoenix.com/2019/04/18/47956/|archive-date=April 29, 2019|url-status=live}} Students responded by calling for the college's administration to immediately terminate all fraternity leases on campus, staging a sit-in at the Phi Psi house until the demands were met.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/swarthmore-college-students-occupying-frat-house-protest|date=April 29, 2019|magazine=Teen Vogue|access-date=April 29, 2019|title=Swarthmore College Students Are Occupying a Frat House to Protest Fraternities on Their Campus - Teen Vogue|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430032323/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/swarthmore-college-students-occupying-frat-house-protest|archive-date=April 30, 2019|url-status=live}} Both Delta Upsilon and Phi Psi announced their voluntary disbandment on April 30, 2019. President Valerie Smith subsequently announced on May 10, 2019, that Greek letter organizations were no longer allowed at Swarthmore.{{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/update-student-social-events-and-community-standards-president-smith|title=An Update on Student Social Events and Community Standards from President Smith|publisher=Swarthmore College|date=May 10, 2019|access-date=May 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511075042/https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/update-student-social-events-and-community-standards-president-smith|archive-date=May 11, 2019|url-status=live}}

The Swarthmore Phoenix has been the independent campus newspaper of Swarthmore College since 1881 or 1882.{{Cite web|url=https://swarthmorephoenix.com/|title=The Phoenix - The Independent Campus Newspaper of Swarthmore College Since 1881|access-date=April 30, 2019|archive-date=April 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430033411/https://swarthmorephoenix.com/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/phoenix|title=The Phoenix|date=July 8, 2014|website=www.swarthmore.edu|access-date=January 10, 2021|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111021838/https://www.swarthmore.edu/phoenix|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/a-brief-history/1882-phoenix-founded|title=1882 The Phoenix Founded|date=May 13, 2016|website=www.swarthmore.edu|access-date=January 10, 2021|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111030349/https://www.swarthmore.edu/a-brief-history/1882-phoenix-founded|url-status=live}} The phoenix has deep roots in Swarthmore lore. When the college's iconic Parrish Hall was gutted by fire in 1881, it was immediately rebuilt, rising, some noted, from the ashes like the bird found in Egyptian and Greek mythology. Thereafter, The Phoenix became the name of the campus newspaper.{{Cite web|url=http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?start=25&fq=date_facet:%221900-1950%22+AND+date_facet:%221950-2000%22+AND+subject_corporate_name_facet:%22Swarthmore+College%22&id=PACSCL_swarthmore_6Q020phoeUSPSH|title=Swarthmore Phoenix Records, 1884-1953|website=dla.library.upenn.edu|access-date=April 16, 2021|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111020856/http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?start=25&fq=date_facet:%221900-1950%22+AND+date_facet:%221950-2000%22+AND+subject_corporate_name_facet:%22Swarthmore+College%22&id=PACSCL_swarthmore_6Q020phoeUSPSH|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/resources/6q020phoe|title=Collection: Swarthmore Phoenix Records | Archives & Manuscripts|website=archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu|access-date=January 10, 2021|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111045539/http://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/resources/6q020phoe|url-status=live}}

With an early staff that often numbered fewer than ten people, The Phoenix was first published monthly, then moved to a bi-weekly schedule in 1894. It is now published weekly. The Phoenix first appeared online in September 1995. The newspaper is printed by Hocking News in Lancaster County.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thecollegefix.com/post/29066/|title=Swarthmore student newspaper apologizes for op-ed telling students to 'stop whining' – The College Fix|date=September 19, 2016|work=The College Fix|access-date=April 27, 2017|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429003158/https://www.thecollegefix.com/post/29066/|archive-date=April 29, 2017|url-status=live}}

File:Ben West birthplace Swarthmore PA obl.JPG is on campus]]

Voices was founded in 2017 as "an online news publication solely dedicated to centering marginalized voices and creating space for them to tell their own stories", in response to controversial articles about African-American protests in the already-existing online publication The Daily Gazette.{{Cite web|url=https://swarthmorevoices.com/our-history|title=Our history|work=voices|access-date=July 1, 2020|archive-date=May 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527091922/https://swarthmorevoices.com/our-history|url-status=live}} In May 2018, The Daily Gazette, which had been published since 1996, merged with The Phoenix.{{cite news|url=https://swarthmorephoenix.com/2018/05/04/the-daily-gazette-to-merge-with-the-phoenix/|title=The Daily Gazette to Merge with The Phoenix|work=The Phoenix|date=May 4, 2018|access-date=July 1, 2020|archive-date=August 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808005102/https://swarthmorephoenix.com/2018/05/04/the-daily-gazette-to-merge-with-the-phoenix/|url-status=live}}

There are a number of magazines at Swarthmore, most of which are published semi-annually at the end of each semester.

One is Spike, Swarthmore's humor magazine, founded in 1993. The others are literary magazines, including Nacht, which publishes long-form non-fiction, fiction, poetry and artwork; Small Craft Warnings, which publishes poetry, fiction and artwork; Scarlet Letters, which publishes women's literature; Enie, for Spanish literature; Visibility Zine, for literature and art by historically marginalized groups;{{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/intercultural-center/visibility-zine|title=VISIBILITY Zine :: Hormel-Nguyen Intercultural Center|date=April 27, 2016|publisher=Swarthmore College|access-date=July 1, 2020|archive-date=April 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423090529/https://www.swarthmore.edu/intercultural-center/visibility-zine|url-status=live}} OURstory, for literature relating to diversity issues; Bug-Eyed Magazine, a very limited-run science fiction/fantasy magazine published by Psi Phi, formerly known as Swarthmore Warders of Imaginative Literature (SWIL); Remappings (formerly "CelebrASIAN"), published by the Swarthmore Asian Organization; Alchemy, a collection of academic writings published by the Swarthmore Writing Associates; Mjumbe, published by the Swarthmore African-American Student Society; and a magazine for French literature. An erotica magazine, ! (pronounced "bang") was briefly published in 2005 in homage to an earlier publication, Untouchables. Most of the literary magazines print approximately 500 copies, with around 100 pages. There is also a photography magazine, Pun/ctum, which features work from students and alumni.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/friends-historical-library/swarthmore-college-archives-publications|title=Swarthmore College Archives: Publications :: Friends Historical Library :: Swarthmore College|website=www.swarthmore.edu|language=en|access-date=April 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428142514/http://www.swarthmore.edu/friends-historical-library/swarthmore-college-archives-publications|archive-date=April 28, 2017|url-status=dead}}

File:Swarthmore Station.JPG

WSRN 91.5 FM is the college radio station. It has a mix of indie, rock, hip-hop, electronic dance, folk, world, jazz and classical music, as well as a number of radio talk shows. At one time, WSRN had a significant news department, and covered events such as the 1969 black protest movement extensively.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/phoenix/2002/2002-01-24/news/11640.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223094241/http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/phoenix/2002/2002-01-24/news/11640.html|url-status=dead|title=Crisis of '69|archive-date=December 23, 2007}} In the 1990s, WSRN centered its programming on the immensely popular "Hank and Bernie Show", starring undergraduates Hank Hanks and Bernie Bernstein. Hank and Bernie conducted wide-ranging and entertaining interviews of sports stars and cultural icons such as Lou Piniella, Mark Grace, Jake Plummer, Greg Ostertag, Andy Karich and Mark "the Bird" Fidrych, and also engaged the Swarthmore community in discussions on campus issues and current events. Upwards of 90 percent of the Swarthmore community would tune in to the Hank and Bernie Show and many members of the surrounding villages and towns would also listen and call in. Many archived recordings of musical and spoken word performances exist, such as the once-annual Swarthmore Folk Festival.{{cite magazine|last=Smith|first=Ralph Lee|date=March 1997|title=If I Had a Song...|url=http://bulletin.swarthmore.edu/bulletin-issue-archive/wp-content/archived_issues_pdf/Bulletin_1997_03.pdf|magazine=Swarthmore College Bulletin|location=Swarthmore, Pennsylvania|publisher=Swarthmore College|volume=XCIV|issn=0888-2126|access-date=September 8, 2016|number=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003222648/http://bulletin.swarthmore.edu/bulletin-issue-archive/wp-content/archived_issues_pdf/Bulletin_1997_03.pdf|archive-date=October 3, 2016|url-status=live}} Today WSRN focuses virtually exclusively on entertainment, though it has covered significant news developments such as the athletic cuts in 2000{{Cite web|url=http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/phoenix/2000/2000-11-30/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222092701/http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/phoenix/2000/2000-11-30/|url-status=dead|title=Cuts to athletic programs|archive-date=December 22, 2007}} and the effects of the September 11 attacks on campus. War News Radio and The Sudan Radio Project (formerly the Darfur Radio Project) do broadcast news on WSRN, however. Currently, the longest running show in WSRN's lineup is "Oído al Tambor", which focuses on news and music from Latin America. The show has been running non-stop, on Sundays from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., since September 2006. After its members graduated in December 2009, the show's concept was revived by the show "Rayuela", which has been running since September 2009.

The collegiate a cappella groups include Sixteen Feet, the college's oldest group (founded in 1981), as well as its first and only all-male group. Grapevine is its corresponding all-female group (founded in 1983), and Mixed Company is a co-ed group. Essence of Soul is the college's all-black group. The youngest group, OffBeat was founded in the fall of 2013 as a group open to all genders and identities. In addition, Chaverim is a co-ed group that includes students from the Tri-College Consortium and draws on music from cultures around the world for its repertoire. The groups, self-run as volunteer clubs with college support, travel to other schools to participate in concerts. Once every semester, all of the school's a cappella groups collaborate for a joint concert called Jamboree, which includes visiting groups from other colleges and universities.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/living-swarthmore/swarthmores-student-organizations|title=Swarthmore's Student Organizations :: Living@Swarthmore :: Swarthmore College|website=www.swarthmore.edu|language=en|access-date=April 27, 2017|date=August 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428142603/http://www.swarthmore.edu/living-swarthmore/swarthmores-student-organizations|archive-date=April 28, 2017|url-status=live}}

Swarthmore College students are eligible to participate in the local emergency department, the Swarthmore Fire and Protective Association. They are trained as firefighters and as emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and are qualified on both the state and national level. The fire department responds to over 200 fire calls and almost 800 EMS calls a year.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarthmorefd.org/ems/|title=Swarthmore Fire & Protective Association :: EMS|website=www.swarthmorefd.org|language=en|access-date=April 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429000339/http://www.swarthmorefd.org/ems/|archive-date=April 29, 2017|url-status=live}} A fire horn, colloquially deemed the "fire moose", is located within the Swarthmore campus and its sound has become a fixture of campus life.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-03 |title=Where There's Smoke There's A Fire (Moose): The Story Behind the Fire Moose - The Phoenix |url=http://swarthmorephoenix.com/2022/11/03/where-theres-smoke-theres-a-fire-moose-the-story-behind-the-fire-moose/ |access-date=2023-08-14 |language=en-US}}{{cite web|url=http://swarthmorehistoricalsociety.org/2016/03/11/monthly-swarthmore-history-contest-in-swarthmorean-fire-horn|language=en|access-date=June 30, 2018|title=Monthly Swarthmore History Contest in the Swarthmorean: Fire Horn|date=March 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630214302/http://swarthmorehistoricalsociety.org/2016/03/11/monthly-swarthmore-history-contest-in-swarthmorean-fire-horn/|archive-date=June 30, 2018|url-status=live}}

Swarthmore College Computer Society (SCCS) is a student-run volunteer organization independent of the official ITS department of the college.{{cite web|url=http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu|title=Swarthmore College Computer Society|website=www.sccs.swarthmore.edu|access-date=April 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416050352/http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/|archive-date=April 16, 2016|url-status=live}} SCCS operates a set of servers that provide web applications for the Swarthmore College community, e-mail accounts, Unix shell login accounts, server storage space and webspace to students, professors, alumni and other student-run organizations. SCCS hosts over 100 mailing lists used by various student groups, and over 130 organizational websites. SCCS also provides a computer lab and gaming room, located in Clothier basement beneath Essie Mae's snack bar.{{cite web|url=https://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/about/|title=SCCS – About|website=www.sccs.swarthmore.edu|language=en-US|access-date=April 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428235953/https://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/about/|archive-date=April 28, 2017|url-status=live}}

In September 2003, the SCCS servers survived a slashdotting while hosting a copy of the Diebold memos on behalf of the student group Free Culture Swarthmore, then known as the Swarthmore Coalition for the Digital Commons. SCCS staff promptly complied with the relevant DMCA takedown request received by the college's ITS department.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3341683|title=Swarthmore College's response to the DMCA takedown request|last=Konrad|first=Rachel|date=October 27, 2003|work=NBC News|access-date=March 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305141900/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3341683/|archive-date=March 5, 2016|url-status=dead}}

SCCS was noted in PC Magazine{{'s}} article "Top 20 Wired Colleges" as one of the reasons for ranking Swarthmore #4 on that list.{{cite web|url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2073408,00.asp|title=Top 20 Wired Colleges|work=PCMAG|access-date=June 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427151750/http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2073408,00.asp|archive-date=April 27, 2009|url-status=live}}

Three SCCS-related papers have been accepted for publication at the USENIX Large Installation System Administration (LISA) Conference, one of which was awarded Best Paper.{{cite web|url=http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa07/|title=21st Large Installation System Administration (LISA) Conference, Dallas, November 11–16, 2007|date=February 5, 2008|publisher=Usenix.org|access-date=March 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222095502/http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa07/|archive-date=February 22, 2011|url-status=live}}[http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa02/tech/stepleton.html Work-Augmented Laziness with the Los Task Request System] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102212436/http://usenix.org/events/lisa02/tech/stepleton.html |date=November 2, 2007 }}, Thomas Stepleton. Pp. 1–12 of the Proceedings of LISA '02: Sixteenth Systems Administration Conference, (Berkeley, CA: USENIX Association, 2002)[http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa06/tech/crosta.html Fighting Institutional Memory Loss: The Trackle Integrated Issue and Solution Tracking System] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223155129/http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa06/tech/crosta.html |date=December 23, 2007 }}, Daniel S. Crosta and Matthew J. Singleton, Swarthmore College Computer Society; Benjamin A. Kuperman, Swarthmore College. Pp. 287–298 of the Proceedings{{cite journal|last2=Sutherland|first2=Dougal J.|last3=Burka|first3=Alexander|last4=Lipton|first4=Benjamin|last5=Felt|first5=Nicholas|last6=Roelofs|first6=Rebecca|last7=Feist-Alexandrov|first7=Daniel-Elia|last8=Dini|first8=Steve|last9=Welkie|first9=Allen|date=2012|title=Managing User Requests With the Grand Unified Task System (GUTS)|url=https://www.usenix.org/conference/lisa12/technical-sessions/presentation/stromme|journal=USENIX Large Installation System Administration|pages=101–110|last1=Stromme|first1=Andrew|access-date=April 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417205601/https://www.usenix.org/conference/lisa12/technical-sessions/presentation/stromme|archive-date=April 17, 2015|url-status=live}}

File:Swarthmore_logo_from_NCAA.svg

Swarthmore's athletic department has 22 varsity intercollegiate sports teams including badminton, baseball, basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. The football team was controversially eliminated in 2000,{{cite news |last1=Longman |first1=Jere |title=No More Football, Lots of Questions |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/05/sports/football-no-more-football-lots-of-questions.html |access-date=15 October 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=5 December 2000 |archive-date=October 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018101433/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/05/sports/football-no-more-football-lots-of-questions.html |url-status=live }} along with wrestling and, initially, badminton. The Board of Managers cited lack of athletes on campus and difficulty of recruiting as reasons for terminating the programs.{{Cite web|url=http://phoenix.swarthmore.edu/2003-12-04/news/13551|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705035151/http://phoenix.swarthmore.edu/2003-12-04/news/13551|url-status=dead|title=Three years later, athletics shows improvement|archive-date=July 5, 2008}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/daily/specials/sportscut/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609135404/http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/daily/specials/sportscut/index.html|url-status=dead|title=Athlete recruiting difficulty|archive-date=June 9, 2007}}{{Cite web|title=Comprehensive History|url=https://swarthmoreathletics.com/sports/2020/7/6/comprehensive-history.aspx|access-date=2020-09-23|website=Swarthmore College Athletics|language=en|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019081300/https://swarthmoreathletics.com/sports/2020/7/6/comprehensive-history.aspx|url-status=live}}

The department also offers a number of club sport options, including men's and women's rugby, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, fencing and squash.{{Cite web|title=Club Sports and Student Activity Groups|url=https://swarthmoreathletics.com/sports/2013/6/17/clubsports.aspx|access-date=2020-09-23|website=Swarthmore College Athletics|language=en|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019082334/https://swarthmoreathletics.com/sports/2013/6/17/clubsports.aspx|url-status=live}} The participation rate of students in intercollegiate or club sports is 40 percent.{{Cite web|title=Quick Facts|url=https://swarthmoreathletics.com/sports/2013/6/4/GEN_0604130038.aspx|access-date=2020-09-23|website=Swarthmore College Athletics|language=en|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019081902/https://swarthmoreathletics.com/sports/2013/6/4/GEN_0604130038.aspx|url-status=live}}

Swarthmore is a charter member of the Centennial Conference, a group of private colleges in Pennsylvania and Maryland and is a member of NCAA Division III.{{Cite journal|title=The Centennial Conference|url=https://www.centennial.org/information/about|access-date=2020-09-23|website=Centennial Conference Athletics|language=en|archive-date=April 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429104107/http://centennial.org/information/About|url-status=live}}

The men's basketball team is currently coached by Landry Kosmalski who was named Division III's National Coach of the Year in 2020.{{Cite web|title=Kosmalski Picked As National Coach Of The Year|url=https://swarthmoreathletics.com/news/2020/3/20/mens-basketball-kosmalski-picked-as-national-coach-of-the-year.aspx|access-date=2020-09-23|website=Swarthmore College Athletics|date=March 20, 2020 |language=en|archive-date=April 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419143125/https://swarthmoreathletics.com/news/2020/3/20/mens-basketball-kosmalski-picked-as-national-coach-of-the-year.aspx|url-status=live}} In the 2018–19 season, the Garnet reached the NCAA Division III Championship Game for the first time but lost to the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh 96–82.{{Cite web|title=Garnet Conclude Tournament As National Runners-Up|url=https://swarthmoreathletics.com/news/2019/3/16/mens-basketball-garnet-conclude-tournament-as-national-runners-up.aspx|access-date=2020-09-23|website=Swarthmore College Athletics|date=March 16, 2019 |language=en|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310221549/https://swarthmoreathletics.com/news/2019/3/16/mens-basketball-garnet-conclude-tournament-as-national-runners-up.aspx|url-status=live}} The 2019–20 team began the season 26–0 and were the last unbeaten team remaining out of all of Division I, II and III.{{Cite magazine|last=Pickman|first=Ben|title=The Last Unbeaten in Men's Hoops? Meet Swarthmore College|url=https://www.si.com/college/2020/02/26/swarthmore-basketball-undefeated-ncaa-d3|access-date=2020-09-23|magazine=Sports Illustrated|language=en-us|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310220611/https://www.si.com/college/2020/02/26/swarthmore-basketball-undefeated-ncaa-d3|url-status=live}} The Garnet were ranked No. 1 in the nation by D3hoops.com for the entirety of the season, becoming the first team to be ranked at the top of that poll from start to finish.{{Cite web|title=Men's Basketball Ends Season Ranked No. 1|url=https://swarthmoreathletics.com/news/2020/3/17/mens-basketball-ends-season-ranked-no-1.aspx|access-date=2020-09-23|website=Swarthmore College Athletics|date=March 17, 2020 |language=en|archive-date=April 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415000850/http://www.swarthmoreathletics.com/news/2020/3/17/mens-basketball-ends-season-ranked-no-1.aspx|url-status=live}}

Swarthmore has won 26 Centennial Conference team championships and claims four national championships in men's lacrosse in 1900, 1904, 1905 and 1910, four national championships in men's tennis in 1977, 1981, 1985 and 1990, two men's tennis doubles national championships in 1976 and 1985, and two individual championships in women's track and field in 2016 and 2023.{{Cite web|title=Team Championships|url=https://swarthmoreathletics.com/sports/2013/6/25/HT_0625133733.aspx?id=62|access-date=2020-09-23|website=Swarthmore College Athletics|language=en|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310221330/https://swarthmoreathletics.com/sports/2013/6/25/HT_0625133733.aspx?id=62|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Individual Champions|url=https://swarthmoreathletics.com/sports/2013/6/24/HT_0624134039.aspx?id=59|access-date=2020-09-23|website=Swarthmore College Athletics|language=en|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310221350/https://swarthmoreathletics.com/sports/2013/6/24/HT_0624134039.aspx?id=59|url-status=live}}

{{Main|List of Swarthmore College people}}

Swarthmore's alumni include six Nobel Prize winners, namely the 2024 Physics laureate John Hopfield (1954),{{cite web|url=https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/201906/franklin.cfm|title=John Hopfield and Eli Yablonovitch Named Benjamin Franklin Medalists|publisher=American Physical Society|access-date=August 13, 2023}} the 2006 Physics laureate John C. Mather (1968), the 2004 Economics laureate Edward Prescott (1962), the 1975 Physiology or Medicine laureats David Baltimore (1960) and Howard Martin Temin (1955), and the 1972 Chemistry laureate Christian B. Anfinsen (1937). It is surpassed only by the California Institute of Technology and Harvard University in per capita production of Nobel laureates in the United States.{{Cite journal |title=Table 7.39731 Top Nobel-producing undergraduate institutions |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2016.20757/tables/1 |language=en |journal= |access-date=April 25, 2022 |archive-date=April 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425230634/https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2016.20757/tables/1 |url-status=live }} Alumni also include 13 MacArthur Fellows and hundreds of other prominent figures in law, art, science, business, politics and other fields.

• Detlev Bronk (1920), former president of Johns Hopkins University; former president of the National Academy of Sciences{{cite web|url=https://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/20001078.html|title=Detlev Bronk|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|access-date=August 24, 2023}}
• Michael Dukakis (1955), former Governor of Massachusetts (1975–1979, 1983–1991) and the Democratic nominee in the 1988 presidential election{{cite web |url=http://www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter/about/kitty-and-michael-dukakis-biographies/ |title=Kitty and Michael Dukakis Biographies |publisher=Northeastern.edu |access-date=September 8, 2016 |archive-date=August 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826225405/http://www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter/about/kitty-and-michael-dukakis-biographies/ |url-status=dead }}
• Sandra Faber (1966), astronomer known for her research on the evolution of galaxies, co-discoverer of Faber–Jackson relation{{cite web|url=https://gruber.yale.edu/cosmology/sandra-faber|title=Sandra Faber|publisher=Gruber Foundation|access-date=August 13, 2023}}
• Christiana Figueres (1979), Costa Rican diplomat, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2010–2016){{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/un-climate-chief-christiana-figueres-79-fights-to-reduce-global-emissions|title=UN Climate Chief Christiana Figueres '79 Fights to Reduce Global Emissions|publisher=Swarthmore College|date=August 19, 2015|access-date=August 13, 2023}}
• Andre Gunder Frank (1950), sociologist and economic historian, promoted dependency theory and world-systems theory{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/may/04/guardianobituaries.obituaries1|title=Obituary: Andre Gunder Frank|work=The Guardian|date=May 4, 2005|first=Barry K|last=Gills|access-date=August 13, 2023}}
• Jonathan Franzen (1981), novelist and essayist (The Corrections){{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-archive-2009-2011/jonathan-franzen-81-first-living-american-novelist-time-cover-decade|title=Jonathan Franzen '81 First Living American Novelist on Time Cover in Decade|date=August 16, 2010 |publisher=Swarthmore College|access-date=August 13, 2023}}
• Allan Gibbard (1963), philosopher and social choice theorist, Richard B. Brandt Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Michigan{{Cite web |last=Gibbard |first=Allen |date=2009-05-28 |title=ALLAN F. GIBBARD vita |url=https://public.websites.umich.edu/~gibbard/Vita.pdf |access-date=22 January 2024}}
• Carol Gilligan (1958), feminist, ethicist and psychologist who researched ethical community and ethical relationships{{cite web|url=http://faculty.webster.edu/woolflm/gilligan.html|title=Carol Gilligan (1936-present)|publisher=Webster University|access-date=August 13, 2023}}
• Josh Green (1992), Democratic Governor of Hawaii (2022–present){{cite web |url= http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/32389 |title= Joshua Green's Biography |publisher= Project Vote Smart |access-date= December 5, 2013}}
• Arlie Russell Hochschild (1962), author and professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley{{cite news|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/archive/wp/april-2013_a-playful-spirit.html|title=A Playful Spirit|work=Swarthmore College Bulletin|date=April 2013|first=Sherri|last=Kimmel|access-date=August 13, 2023}}
• Stephen Lang (1973), Tony Award-nominated actor and playwright; star of Avatar, Gods and Generals, Gettysburg, Tombstone, and Terra Nova
• Carl Levin (1956), Democratic former US Senator from Michigan (1979–2015){{cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/sen-carl-levins-decision-opens-seat-in-2014/|title=Sen. Carl Levin's decision opens seat in 2014 |author=Ken Thomas |publisher=Associated Press|work=Seattle Times|date=March 8, 2013 |access-date=August 13, 2023 }}
• David K. Lewis (1962), philosopher who researched Analytic Metaphysics, rated as one of the fifteen most important philosophers in the past 200 years.Leiter Report. [http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2009/03/so-who-is-the-most-important-philosopher-of-the-past-200-years.html "So who is the most important philosopher of the past 200 years?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719024011/http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2009/03/so-who-is-the-most-important-philosopher-of-the-past-200-years.html |date=July 19, 2017 }}{{Cite news |last=O'Grady |first=Jane |date=October 23, 2001|title=David Lewis |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/oct/23/guardianobituaries.books |access-date=August 13, 2023}}
• Beth Littleford, actress, first woman correspondent on the Daily Show, attended for three years{{cite news|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1998-01-13-9801120091-story.html|title=Spice girl|work=Sun-Sentinel|date=January 13, 1998|first=Tyler|last=Gray|access-date=August 13, 2023}}
• Lee MacPhail (1939), baseball executive, former president of American League (1974–1983); inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1998)
• James A. Michener (1929), novelist, who left $10 million (including the copyrights to his works) to Swarthmore.{{cite web |url=http://www.library.miami.edu/specialcollections/collections/findingaids/m0134_find.html |title=Biographical Sketch, James A. Michener Papers |website=University of Miami Library |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729050100/http://www.library.miami.edu/specialcollections/collections/findingaids/m0134_find.html |archive-date=July 29, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}
• Isabel Briggs Myers (1919), co-creator of the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator assessment.{{cite web|url=https://eu.themyersbriggs.com/en/tools/MBTI/Myers-Briggs-history|title=The history of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator|publisher=The Myers-Briggs Company|access-date=August 13, 2023}}
• Ted Nelson (1959), pioneer of information technology, philosopher and sociologist; coined the terms "hypertext" and "hypermedia".{{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/archive/wp/april-2011_possiplex-ted-nelson-59-and-the-literary-machine.html|title=Possiplex: Ted Nelson '59 and the Literary Machine|work=Swarthmore College Bulletin|first=Mark|last=Bernstein|date=April 2011|access-date=August 13, 2013}}
• Alice Paul (1905), suffragist and National Woman's Party founder.{{cite web|title=Who Was Alice Paul|url=http://www.alicepaul.org/who-was-alice-paul/|publisher=Alice Paul Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909083624/http://www.alicepaul.org/who-was-alice-paul/|archive-date=September 9, 2014|url-status=dead}}
• Robert D. Putnam (1963), political scientist (Two-level game theory, Bowling Alone){{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/alumni-weekend-2022/robert-putnam-63|title=Robert Putnam '63 :: Alumni Weekend 2022|date=June 2, 2022 |publisher=Swarthmore College|access-date=24 August 2023}}
• Jane S. Richardson (1962), biophysicist, inventor of Ribbon diagrams{{Cite web|url=http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/biomolecules/proteins-and-sugars/richardson.aspx|title=Jane S. Richardson|website=Chemical Heritage Foundation|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712164855/http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/biomolecules/proteins-and-sugars/richardson.aspx|archive-date=July 12, 2016|access-date=February 16, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://archives.mc.duke.edu/xml?faids=collection-251.xml|title=Guide to the Jane S. Richardson Oral History Interview, 2007|publisher=Duke Medical Center Archives|access-date=August 24, 2023}}
• Sally Ride, astronaut and physicist, first American woman in space, attended for three semesters{{cite book |last1=Sherr |first1=Lynn |author1-link=Lynn Sherr |title=Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space |date=2014 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4767-2578-9 |oclc= 885483468|pages=28–38}}
• Nancy Roman (1946), NASA's first Chief of Astronomy in the Office of Space Science, 'mother of the Hubble telescope'"Roman, Nancy Grace." in American Men & Women of Science: A Biographical Directory of Today's Leaders in Physical, Biological, and Related Sciences. Ed. Andrea Kovacs Henderson. 30th ed. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale, 2012. 339. Gale Virtual Reference Library.
• Peter Schickele (1957), musical composer and satirist (P. D. Q. Bach){{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/composer-peter-schickele-57-revives-pdq-bach-new-york-performances|title=Composer Peter Schickele '57 Revives P.D.Q. Bach for New York Performances|publisher=Swarthmore College|date=January 4, 2016|access-date=August 13, 2023}}
• Charlotte Moore Sitterly (1920), astronomer, known for her extensive spectroscopic studies of the Sun and chemical elements{{cite web|url=https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/4784|title=Oral History Interviews: Interview of Charlotte Moore Sitterly by David DeVorkin|date=June 15, 1978|publisher=Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics|access-date=August 13, 2023}}
• Kenneth Turan (1967), film critic, formerly for The Los Angeles Times{{cite news|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/archive/wp/january-2009_kenneth-turan-67.html|title=Kenneth Turan '67|work=Swarthmore College Bulletin|date=January 2009|access-date=13 August 2023}}
• Chris Van Hollen (1983), Democratic US Representative (2003–2017) and US Senator (2017–present) from Maryland; Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (2017–2018){{cite news|work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|title=VAN HOLLEN profile|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=v000128|access-date=August 13, 2023}}
• Peter J. Weinberger (1964), computer scientist, contributed to the AWK programming language{{cite journal|url=https://works.swarthmore.edu/alum-books/59/|title='The AWK Programming Language' by Peter J. Weinberger , 1964|journal=Books by Alumni |date=January 1988 |publisher=Swarthmore College|access-date=August 13, 2023 |last1=Weinberger |first1=Peter }}
• Robert Zoellick (1976), former president of the World Bank.{{Cite book|title=Halcyon|publisher=Swarthmore College|year=1975|pages=24,158}}

• Solomon Asch, Gestalt psychologist, conformity experiments{{cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology/solomon-asch-award|title=Solomon Asch Award|date=|publisher=Swarthmore College|access-date=August 24, 2023}}
• Monroe Beardsley, philosopher of art (instrumentalism){{Citation|last=Wreen|first=Michael|title=Beardsley's Aesthetics|date=2014|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2014/entries/beardsley-aesthetics/|encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|editor-last=Zalta|editor-first=Edward N.|edition=Winter 2014|publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University|access-date=2021-06-30}}
• Wolfgang Köhler, Gestalt psychologist (psychology of problem solving)
• Frederic Pryor, economist{{Cite web|author=Valerie Smith|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/honor-professor-emeritus-economics-frederic-l-pryor|title=In Honor of Professor Emeritus of Economics Frederic L. Pryor|publisher=Swarthmore College|date=September 10, 2019|access-date=August 24, 2023}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last1=Walton |first1=Richard J. |author1-link=Richard J. Walton |title=Swarthmore College: An Informal History |date=1986 |publisher=The Swarthmore |isbn=978-1125133866 |oclc=988369430}}

{{refend}}

{{ccat}}

• {{oweb}}
• [https://swarthmoreathletics.com/ Athletics website]

{{navboxes

|title = Articles related to Swarthmore College

|titlestyle = background:#962134; color:white; border:2px solid #

|list =

{{Colleges and Universities in Pennsylvania}}

{{Tri-College Consortium}}

{{QuestBridge}}

{{Centennial Conference navbox}}

{{Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities}}

{{Colleges and universities in metropolitan Philadelphia}}

{{Annapolis Group}}

{{Oberlin Group}}

{{CLAC}}

{{Philadelphia College Radio Collective}}

}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|39|54|18|N|75|21|14|W|type:edu_region:US-PA|display=title|format=dms}}

Category:1864 establishments in Pennsylvania

Category:Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union

Category:Liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania

Category:Quakerism in Pennsylvania

Category:Quaker universities and colleges

Category:Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

Category:Universities and colleges in Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Category:Private universities and colleges in Pennsylvania

Category:Need-blind educational institutions

Category:Universities and colleges established in 1864