Founded in 1832 as Pennsylvania College, Gettysburg College spreads its campus in front of you. Founded in 1832 as Pennsylvania College by Samuel Simon Schmucker, this institution began as a sister school to the Lutheran Theological Seminary — the seminary that is now a campus of the United Lutheran Seminary. Both owe their inception to Thaddeus Stevens, the Radical Republican and abolitionist from Gettysburg.
Today the 225-acre (91 ha) campus sits adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield and, as of fall 2025, enrolls 2,086 students. The life here balances study and sport: the college fields 24 NCAA Division III men's and women's teams known as the Bullets, alongside many club, intramural, and recreational programs. Earlier chapters of the college's story reached beyond town: in 1839 doctors George McClellan and Samuel George Morton and others founded the Medical School of Pennsylvania College in Philadelphia, although that school ran into money troubles within four years and its founders left their posts.
Even in these brief details you can sense the civic energy that founded and shaped this place. Today 2,086 students call this 225-acre campus home, cheering the Bullets across 24 Division III teams beside the battlefield beyond your walk.