Academics at Lehigh
For more than 150 years, Lehigh’s focus on the hard work of today has produced solutions to the challenges of tomorrow. We have developed some of the most innovative minds of our time, whose focused determination has left a lasting mark on the world.
Creative Problem Solving
We are built to combine imagination and practicality to find solutions to tomorrow’s challenges.
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A Well-Rounded Education
When you apply to Lehigh, you’ll apply to one of our four undergraduate colleges or directly into an intercollegiate interdisciplinary program. Students have the opportunity to take courses across colleges, pursue additional majors/minors outside of their primary college and study problems pragmatically from multiple angles. No matter your path, you’ll have the opportunity to explore ideas that excite and challenge you.
College of Arts and Sciences: Find educational opportunities both broad and deep that will help you grow into a critical and creative thinker.
- 2,208 undergraduate students
P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science: Become a problem-solver who thinks holistically about societal challenges and conducts research in an integrated and collaborative environment.
- 1,412 undergraduate students
College of Business: Think unconventionally and with integrity as you prepare to become a leader both inside and outside of the boardroom.
- 1,299 undergraduate students
College of Health: Join the next generation of leaders who will shape the future of population health and make an impact on society.
- 215 undergraduate students
Our Newest College
Lehigh’s College of Health is the first in the world to offer an undergraduate population health degree with a focus on health innovation and technology. The program, and our 4+1 accelerated BS+MS and BS+MPH programs, approach population health as a convergence science and utilize data science to investigate the determinants of health and identify solutions for disease prevention, promotion of health, diagnosis and intervention.
Opportunities for Innovation and Exploration
Lehigh invites students from all majors to pursue new academic, creative and entrepreneurial pathways that lead to transformative questions and innovations. Students are encouraged to take intellectual risks, learn from failures, and collaborate with members of the campus community and beyond to address real-world problems. A wide variety of programs are offered year-round for students in all colleges, and range from in-depth research projects to evening workshops.
At the LehighHacks 24-hour hackathon, students work in teams to use technology to create unique solutions to problems in financial technology, smart environments and social apps.
The Hatchery is an immersive, full-time learning experience where students gain foundational entrepreneurship skills and bring their own startup ideas to life.
Global Entrepreneurship Internships are an exciting opportunity for students to learn about global entrepreneurship through an eight-week group internship experience with startups in another country.
A series of hands-on workshops where you can have fun while creating, learning and rapidly tackling complex questions.
Collaborative Culture
We are built to succeed individually and harness the powerful potential of working together to serve a greater purpose.
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Interdisciplinary Programs
The world’s problems are not divided neatly into disciplines, and we believe those who will someday solve those problems—and those currently tackling them—shouldn’t be limited to just one or two areas of study. Lehigh’s intercollegiate interdisciplinary programs, along with interdisciplinary programs within the College of Arts and Sciences, teach students to fuse thinking from across disciplines to critically approach challenges and succeed in real-world environments.
Computer Science and Business Program (CSB)
The CSB program provides a fundamental understanding of business, technology and how they fit together in our global economy. The program is a joint initiative between the College of Business and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. CSB students enroll—and are assigned faculty advisors—in both colleges. Students completing this demanding program are awarded a unique joint degree from both colleges.
Integrated Degree in Engineering, Arts and Sciences (IDEAS)
IDEAS students can combine the technological sophistication of an engineering background with the opportunity to tap their creativity, enrich their minds and make a difference in the world. Students choose coursework from the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science and the College of Arts and Sciences to design their own unique thematic degree. Graduates of the IDEAS program will earn a single degree—a B.S. in Integrated Engineering, Arts and Sciences conferred by both colleges.
Integrated Business and Engineering Honors Program (IBE)
The IBE program provides students with a background in technology and commerce, preparing them for success in the constantly changing marketplace. Students in the IBE program can major in any area of business or engineering that Lehigh offers. Each student will elect a traditional major in either the College of Business or in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science upon completion of his or her first year, and will receive a single bachelor of science degree in integrated business and engineering.
More Interdisciplinary Opportunities
The College of Arts and Sciences offers ten interdisciplinary studies programs in areas as diverse as health, medicine, and society; Africana studies; cognitive science; sustainable development; and Asian studies.
West Coast Lehigh
Lehigh University and Silicon Valley—two entities that produce innovators and entrepreneurs—provide the perfect experiential complement. Lehigh students get the best of both worlds by combining the university’s strengths in problem solving with direct exposure to West Coast alumni, industry leaders and trends through guest lectures and group immersion programs.
Lehigh’s collaboration with the NasdaqCenter as its sole academic partner provides students with the opportunity to explore new ideas in a challenging academic environment while developing critical thinking skills and resilience.
Lehigh@NasdaqCenter is an in-residence collaboration, located in San Francisco, to further entrepreneurial education for Lehigh students and alumni. Along with on-site events and workshops, guest lectures provided remotely from the Lehigh@Nasdaq Center give students in Bethlehem access to founders and executives of innovative companies who can provide new insights and shape students’ future career aspirations.
Lehigh’s Western Regional Office (WRO) extends educational opportunities for Lehigh students and faculty by building curricular and research partnerships with dynamic enterprises in selected key cities. Lehigh staff at the WRO work closely with school counselors, alumni and prospective students in the Western Region, bringing Lehigh to them.
LehighSiliconValley brings students from all disciplines to California’s Silicon Valley for an immersive week-long experience. Students meet with and learn from experts, entrepreneurs, inventors, venture capital investors, product design experts and others. This rich real-world team experience is designed to enhance students’ own entrepreneurial ventures and collaboration skills.
Impact on Humanity
We are built to do thoughtful and meaningful work that helps individuals and communities both locally and globally.
Lehigh students have taken part in the United Nations Youth Representative Program
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A Partnership with the United Nations
Lehigh was just the sixth university in the world to have official recognition as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) by the United Nations, alongside organizations including the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Humane Society of the United States. This NGO status means our students have the opportunity to attend UN conferences and private briefings, intern with UN NGO offices worldwide, serve as youth delegates, and host ambassadors and UN delegates on campus. Each year more than 1,500 Lehigh faculty, staff and students attend UN conferences, high-level briefings and private meetings with ambassadors and other UN officials in New York City and on campus. Learn more about Lehigh's partnership with the UN >
Youth Representative Program
Youth Representatives meet with global decision makers, participate in international conferences, and moderate briefings broadcast worldwide. Our Youth Representatives speak on the floor of the General Assembly and work with a wide array of organizations, including Lawyers without Borders, The Peres Center for Peace in Israel, The Center for Public Health in Nigeria and the Darfur Rehabilitation Project in Sudan.
United Nations Interns
More than 90 Lehigh University students have served as interns at the UN, and have had experiences including meeting the Secretary General and engaging with senior UN diplomats. Our students have interned as speech writers, social media marketers, UNESCO researchers, NGO Relations staff members and designers of globally viewed briefings.
United Nations on Campus
Ambassadors and delegates from across the world have visited Lehigh’s campus to give speeches, hold workshops and engage directly with students, faculty and staff.
Lehigh Launch
Lehigh Launch is a first-semester integrative learning experience for intellectually curious and independent students offered in the American West (Wyoming and New Mexico) and Santiago, Chile. Through hands-on learning and challenging coursework in a living-learning community, students will gain new perspectives, grow as individuals and return to Lehigh with the experience and knowledge that will help them succeed.
Students earn 16 credit hours through classroom-based and experiential learning, while fulfilling distribution requirements in natural science, social science and the humanities, as well as the first-year seminar requirement. The program led by Lehigh faculty and staff, is open to students in any major, and costs the same as an on-campus semester (financial aid applies the same as for an on-campus semester as well).
Both Lehigh Launch locations focus on place-based learning. Students in the American West will spend time learning about the literature, earth and environment, and peoples of Wyoming and New Mexico, and take a backpacking expedition with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) to elevate the program's classroom- and field-based learning. Students in Chile will experience culture by studying in the beautiful colonial city of Santiago, nestled at the foot of the Andes Mountains.
