Texas's oldest continuously operating university, a private liberal arts college founded in 1840.
Southwestern offers 40 majors and 36 minors distributed across the Brown College of Arts, Garey School of Natural Sciences, and the Sarofim School of Fine Arts. The institution maintains a 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio with an average class size of 15 students. Ninety-nine percent of tenured or tenure-track faculty hold a doctorate or highest degree in their fields. The university also offers dual-degree engineering partnerships, including a program with Washington University in St. Louis for aerospace engineering.
The 700-acre campus in Georgetown features a central academic mall with residence halls, on-campus apartments, and sports facilities on the periphery. Notable buildings include the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cullen Building (1898, Richardsonian Romanesque style), Mood-Bridwell Hall (1908), the Lois Perkins Chapel (1950), and the Alma Thomas Fine Arts Building. The campus hosts over 90 student organizations, Greek life, and student media including The Megaphone newspaper (established 1907) and Spyglass Literary Magazine.
Southwestern competes in 20 varsity sports as a member of NCAA Division III and the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) since 2025. The school mascot is the Pirate. Notable achievements include reinstatement of football in 2013 after a 62-year hiatus, a nationally ranked handball team that won the Division II National Collegiate Championship in 2007, and men's lacrosse becoming varsity in 2009. The institution was a founding member of the Southwest Conference in 1915 and won the Sun Bowl in 1944 and 1945.
In 2024–2025, US News & World Report ranked Southwestern University 83rd among 211 National Liberal Arts Colleges. Forbes ranked it 284th overall among top 500 private and public colleges, 151st among private universities, and 67th in the South. Washington Monthly ranked it 35th among liberal arts colleges. The university has been recognized as a 2026–2027 College of Distinction for strong career development, business, and education programs.