- Region: Southeast
- Campus Setting: City
- Size: Small
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 1529
- Student to Faculty Ratio: 11:1
- https://www.lr.edu
Overview
Lenoir-Rhyne University opened its doors in 1891 when four Lutheran pastors wanted to create a school for young people to receive a sound education based on religious principles and Christian values. The doors to the one-room school, then called Highland Academy, opened with 12 students. In 1895, the college assumed its first official synodical sponsorship which continues today with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The original property, a 56-acre tract one-mile north of the Hickory business district, was part of the estate of a Watauga County lawyer Walter W. Lenoir. Before he died in 1890, Lenoir donated the land as a campus for a church-sponsored college. The school officially opened on September 1, 1891. It carried the name Highland College, but four months later it was chartered under the name of Lenoir College in memory of the donor of the land. The college became Lenoir-Rhyne in 1923, in honor of Daniel E. Rhyne, a Lincoln County industrialist who boosted the endowment and other assets of the institution. The college was admitted into the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1928. The end of World War II brought an influx of students, boosting enrollment from 407 in 1945 to 843 in 1947. In the late 1960s, the college initiated long-range plans to enrich the quality of its curricula and has never looked back. Major improvements in the academic calendar were implemented. New courses were offered and joint degree programs with other institutions were added. Student personnel services were expanded, new buildings were constructed and others were renovated. The campus almost doubled in size and the endowment hit new highs.Contact
Admissions
Rachel NicholsVP for Enrollment Management
Phone: (828) 328-7300
Email: rachel.nichols@lr.edu
Majors & Degrees
Degree is in the top 10 based on undergradate enrollment.
Degree is in the top 5 based on enrollment at the postgraduate level.
Bachelors
Masters
Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies
Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs
Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services
Education
Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians
English Language and Literature/Letters
Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Health Professions and Related Programs
History
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services
Mathematics and Statistics
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
Natural Resources and Conservation
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, Fitness, and Kinesiology
Philosophy and Religious Studies
Psychology
Public Administration and Social Service Professions
Social Sciences
Theology and Religious Vocations
Visual and Performing Arts
Admissions
Total Applications
5,452
Total Admissions
4,519
82%
Admission Rate
Tuition & Fees
Costs
Tuition
$43,000
Room and Board
$12,900
Book Fees
$1,360
Additional Fees
$0
Miscellaneous Fees
$3,250
Total Expenses
$60,510
71%
Tuition
Financial Aid
Average Financial Aid
$33,541
55%
Coverage of total expenses
Student Body
Total Students
395
47%
53%
Total Undergraduates
1,529
Total Graduates
825
Varsity Sports
NCAA Division II with football
Men
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
Baseball
Basketball
Football
Golf
Lacrosse
Soccer
Swimming
Tennis
Weight Lifting
Women
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
Basketball
Golf
Lacrosse
Other Sports
Soccer
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Volleyball
Weight Lifting