Difference between revisions of "Ivy League"
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The '''Ivy League''' is an [[athletic conference]] of eight private universities in the Northeast; during the first half of the 1900s they played each other frequently. By the 1930s they were referred informally to as the "Ivy League," but the organization was not formalized until 1954. | The '''Ivy League''' is an [[athletic conference]] of eight private universities in the Northeast; during the first half of the 1900s they played each other frequently. By the 1930s they were referred informally to as the "Ivy League," but the organization was not formalized until 1954. | ||
| − | By extension, the term also refers to the eight schools considered as a group, and to social characteristics perceived to be common to the group. The schools of the Ivy League are all old—all but Cornell having been founded before the American Revolution. They are sometimes referred to as the Ancient Eight.<ref>The | + | By extension, the term also refers to the eight schools considered as a group, and to social characteristics perceived to be common to the group. The schools of the Ivy League are all old—all but Cornell having been founded before the American Revolution. They are sometimes referred to as the Ancient Eight.<ref>Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were at one time referred to as the Ancient Three. The phrase Ancient Eight may be an extension of that phrase. The Ivy League is ''not'' comprised of the eight oldest colleges in the U. S., however. It fails to include William and Mary or Rutgers, and includes Cornell, which is younger than many other colleges.</ref> They are all stellar in academics, and all of them have a traditional connection with social prestige. |
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Six of them were founded as Protestant institutions, firmly connected with specific denominations. Penn and Cornell were founded as nonsectarian. Brown, although Baptist (and requiring undergraduates to attend chapel) was founded with a charter guaranteeing religious liberty. | Six of them were founded as Protestant institutions, firmly connected with specific denominations. Penn and Cornell were founded as nonsectarian. Brown, although Baptist (and requiring undergraduates to attend chapel) was founded with a charter guaranteeing religious liberty. | ||
Revision as of 12:42, May 7, 2007
The Ivy League is an athletic conference of eight private universities in the Northeast; during the first half of the 1900s they played each other frequently. By the 1930s they were referred informally to as the "Ivy League," but the organization was not formalized until 1954.
By extension, the term also refers to the eight schools considered as a group, and to social characteristics perceived to be common to the group. The schools of the Ivy League are all old—all but Cornell having been founded before the American Revolution. They are sometimes referred to as the Ancient Eight.[2] They are all stellar in academics, and all of them have a traditional connection with social prestige.
Six of them were founded as Protestant institutions, firmly connected with specific denominations. Penn and Cornell were founded as nonsectarian. Brown, although Baptist (and requiring undergraduates to attend chapel) was founded with a charter guaranteeing religious liberty.
The nickname comes from the old brick buildings on their campuses, which have had time to grow dense coverings of ivy.
Its members include Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Cornell University.
At Harvard, Yale, and Columbia, the undergraduate schools which issue baccalaureate degrees are named Harvard College, Yale College, and Columbia College. Alumni of these schools often identify themselves with the college rather than the university as a whole; thus, Harvard alumni may describe their degree as a "B.A. from Harvard College" rather than as a "B.A. from Harvard University." Dartmouth is unusual in that, for historical reasons, the university as a whole is referred to as Dartmouth College, so an alumnus of the doctoral program has a "Ph.D. from Dartmouth College."[3]
Notes and references
- ↑ Founding dates are those self-reported by the institutions: Harvard 1636, William & Mary 1693, Penn 1740, Princeton 1746, Columbia 1754, Brown 1764, Rutgers 1766, Dartmouth 1770, Cornell 1865.
- ↑ Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were at one time referred to as the Ancient Three. The phrase Ancient Eight may be an extension of that phrase. The Ivy League is not comprised of the eight oldest colleges in the U. S., however. It fails to include William and Mary or Rutgers, and includes Cornell, which is younger than many other colleges.
- ↑ In this regard Dartmouth is unusual but not unique. Some other universities also retain the name "college" for reasons of history or tradition, notably the College of William and Mary and Boston College.