“The world's only liberal arts college rooted in the practice of Christian Science, perched on a Mississippi River bluff in rural Illinois.”
Principia College is a small private liberal arts college in Elsah, Illinois, perched on bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River about 45 minutes north of St. Louis. Founded in 1912 by Mary Kimball Morgan, Principia is the only college in the world built around the practice of Christian Science: although it has no formal affiliation with the Church of Christ, Scientist, the institution's stated purpose is 'to serve the Cause of Christian Science,' and Christian Science principles shape residential, social, and academic life. Until 2024, applicants and their families were required to be Christian Scientists; the college has since opened admission to students of any faith background, while still giving preference to active Christian Scientists in admissions and hiring and asking community members to honor a campus culture grounded in Christian Science. Christian Science itself is not taught as a course of study, but the campus operates the largest Christian Science Organization in the world. With roughly 339 undergraduates, a 6:1 student-faculty ratio, and 27 majors organized into five Academic Centers (Narrative, Meaning & Media; Business & Computer Science; Civic & Global Engagement; Sustainability, Ecology & Chemistry; and the Arts), Principia delivers a deeply personal liberal arts education focused on character, leadership, and global citizenship. About one in five students is international, representing roughly 30 countries on six continents — an unusually high proportion for a college this size. The 2,500-acre campus, designed largely by celebrated architect Bernard Maybeck and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993, is a residential community where every student lives in a dormitory 'house' and forms close ties with faculty, classmates, and staff. Principia is consistently ranked among the strongest values in American higher education — U.S. News named it the #1 Best Value National Liberal Arts College in the 2025 cycle and continues to rank it among the very best for value. Most students receive merit aid, four- and six-year graduation rates outpace the national average, and the alumni network — though small in absolute terms — is unusually tight-knit and globally distributed. For prospective students aligned with its mission, Principia offers a rare combination: an architecturally significant rural campus, a faith-rooted residential community, generous merit funding, and a liberal arts curriculum scaled small enough that every student is genuinely known.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceEarly Decision
Binding; decision by Dec 1; enrollment commitment by Mar 10
Early Action I
Non-binding; decision by Jan 15
Early Action II
Non-binding; decision by Mar 1
Regular Decision
Decision by Apr 1; reply by May 1
Space-Available (Late)
Rolling decisions within 2-4 weeks; enrollment by Jun 30
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$34,800
/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 Principia's strongest enrollment area — mass communication — alongside English, history, religion, and modern languages. Emphasis on storytelling, journalism, and humanistic inquiry tied to the college's broader purpose.
Combines business administration, economics, and computer science in a small-cohort, applied environment. Internships and the alumni network play a central role in career placement.
Home to political science, sociology, anthropology, and education, with strong ties to the International Public Affairs Conference (IPAC) and Principia's signature study abroad and field programs on six continents.
Principia's STEM hub for the natural sciences — biology, chemistry, environmental studies, and sustainability — leveraging the 2,500-acre Mississippi-bluff campus as a living laboratory.
Studio art, theatre, music, and dance, taught in Maybeck-designed buildings on a National Historic Landmark campus. Performance and exhibition opportunities are guaranteed thanks to the small student body.
4 years
Principia's flagship and one of its most popular majors. Combines journalism, public relations, video production, and digital storytelling with a liberal arts core, supported by an unusually active student-run paper (the Pilot) and the IPAC speaker series.
4 years
A signature feature of Principia. Faculty-led 'Abroads' regularly take small groups to Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America for a full term, integrating coursework with on-the-ground field research — an experience available to virtually every student despite the college's small size.
4 years
Built around the 2,500-acre campus and Mississippi River bluff ecosystem. Students engage with food systems, ecology, and environmental policy through hands-on projects on a campus that doubles as a living laboratory.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
