,·Private (Christian Church — Disciples of Christ)·Est. 1902
“A small Disciples of Christ liberal arts college in eastern North Carolina, built around nursing, education, and a tight-knit Bulldog campus.”
Barton College is a private liberal arts college of about 1,200 students in Wilson, North Carolina, an eastern-NC tobacco-and-rail city roughly 50 miles east of Raleigh. Founded in 1902 as Atlantic Christian College and renamed in 1990 for Barton Warren Stone — a founding figure of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) — Barton remains affiliated with the denomination while welcoming students of all faiths. The campus motto, 'Habebunt Lumen Vitae' ('They shall have the light of life'), shapes a service-minded culture centered on small classes, hands-on learning, and close mentorship from full-time faculty. Academics are organized into four schools — Health Sciences, Education and Social Sciences, Business and Innovation, and Arts and Humanities — across roughly 30 undergraduate majors plus a handful of master's programs. Barton is best known regionally for its School of Nursing (BSN, RN-to-BSN, and MSN tracks), its teacher-education programs (including birth-to-kindergarten and elementary licensure), social work, and business administration. Sport management, criminal justice, biology, and mass communications round out the most popular majors, and the college is consistently named a 'College of Distinction' for its hands-on teaching model. Life at Barton is residential and Bulldog-blue. About 84% of first-year students live on campus, and undergrads are required to live in college housing for six continuous semesters. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas — Barton's home since 1930 and the only league it has ever played in — across 22 varsity sports including football (revived in 2018), basketball (2007 D-II national champions), baseball, lacrosse, and acrobatics & tumbling. Welcome Weekend, Bulldog Day, and a service-learning-driven First-Year Seminar anchor the freshman experience, and Wilson itself offers a low-cost, walkable small-city base with easy access to Raleigh, the Research Triangle, and the NC coast.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Regional Colleges South
US News Best Colleges 2026
Best Value Schools — Regional Colleges South
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Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceRolling Admission
Barton uses rolling admissions; applications are reviewed as received until the term begins. May 1 is the National Decision Deadline for tuition deposits but Barton continues to accept deposits afterward.
International Fall Application
International applicants for fall enrollment should submit complete applications by May; transcript evaluations must reach the Office of Admissions by July 1 (fall) or November 1 (spring).
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$35,600 – $36,842
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
Houses Barton's flagship Nursing programs (BSN, RN-to-BSN, MSN) along with health promotion and pre-health tracks. Students complete clinical placements at regional partners including Wilson Medical Center and ECU Health, with simulation labs on campus.
Long the heart of Barton's identity. Offers NC-licensure pathways in Elementary (K-6), Middle Grades (6-9), Birth-to-Kindergarten, and Special Education, plus undergraduate Social Work (CSWE-accredited) and Criminal Justice programs grounded in eastern NC field placements.
Career-oriented business school covering accounting, management, marketing, finance, and sport management. Small cohorts work directly with eastern NC employers and Wilson-area businesses on case projects and internships.
Liberal-arts core of the college. Includes biology and the natural sciences, mass communications, English, history, religion & philosophy, art, music, and theatre — all taught in small classes by full-time faculty.
4 years
Barton's signature program. Pre-licensure BSN students move from the liberal-arts core into clinicals at regional hospitals and community sites; NCLEX-RN pass rates at Barton consistently track at or above the NC state average. The college also offers an RN-to-BSN completion track for working nurses.
4 years
One of eastern North Carolina's most established teacher-prep programs, accredited by CAEP and approved by the NC Department of Public Instruction. Heavy field-experience model places students in Wilson-area public schools from year one, with full student-teaching in the senior year.
4 years
CSWE-accredited program with 400+ hours of supervised field education across two semesters. Graduates qualify for advanced standing in MSW programs and work in eastern NC schools, hospitals, child welfare, and community mental health.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $37,250
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
