Ferrum College

Ferrum College occupies 700 acres in Ferrum, Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The campus includes a working farm, hiking trails, and the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum, which is dedicated to Virginia folklore. Students can also take part in sports, clubs, outdoor activities, Greek Life, and the arts. The setting offers access to both campus activities and the region’s Appalachian culture.

Academically, Ferrum offers more than 50 areas of study and combines classroom learning with hands-on experience and personal guidance. Its environmental studies program was among the first of its kind in the country. Music, theatre, Appalachian studies, folklore, and environmental learning are visible parts of the College’s academic and cultural work. The Appalachian Music program, Orchestra Appalachia, Jack Tale Players, and Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre connect students with regional traditions and performance.

Ferrum’s history is closely tied to Appalachian folklore. The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum houses the James Taylor Adams Collection, which contains thousands of pages of folklore from the Virginia Writers’ Project. The Jack Tale Players began dramatizing regional folktales in 1975 and marked their fiftieth anniversary in 2025. International students should know that Ferrum offers a small-scale campus environment where individual faculty support, outdoor activities, cultural programs, and athletics are central to student life. Panther Athletics competes in NCAA Division II and Conference Carolinas.