Welcome Back, Whitman! A Strong Start to A New Year

The hallways are full again. Classrooms are buzzing, students are settling into new routines, and Whitman is officially back in session.  


On the first day of the 2026-27 school year, Whitman welcomed one of its largest and strongest incoming classes yet. Approximately 500 new first-year students joined Whitman this fall, with an average GPA of 3.85 and average SAT score of 1,363 — both all-time highs for the school. The incoming class extends well beyond first-year students, too: Whitman also welcomed approximately 100 Syracuse University internal transfers and 32 external transfers, the highest numbers for both groups in at least five years. On the graduate side, there are approximately 100 full-time MBA and M.S. students, including the largest MBA cohort in more than a decade, with over 40 students. Together, these graduate students represent 16 countries across five continents, bringing perspectives from around the world to a community that continues to grow in both size and diversity. 


This fall, the university also marked the installation of Chancellor Mike Haynie, and it was hard not to feel extra pride around Whitman. The Investiture Ceremony at the Dome brought electric energy to campus, marking the start of a new era for Syracuse University.  


With a community like ours comes a lot of activity. Here’s a look at how Whitman students are finding their place, building their futures and putting what they learn into practice, right from the onset of the semester.

Finding Community at Whitman  

For new students, the first few weeks are more than syllabi and homework. They're about finding where you belong, and Whitman's interactive programming is designed to help students do exactly that.  


Freshmen got a head start at the First Year Meet & Mingle, hosted by the Goodman IMPRESS Program, which equips all Whitman undergraduates with the skills employers look for, from leadership and communication to global perspective and industry exposure, through regular programming and the guidance of faculty mentors and peer facilitators. The reception gave new students a way to meet classmates and start building relationships that follow them well past graduation. 


That same spirit of exploration carries into the Goodman IMPRESS Scavenger Hunt, which sent students out to discover campus resources and the broader Syracuse community for themselves, from the Study Abroad office to the Couri Hatchery, the Makerspace, People’s Place and beyond. 


Community-building doesn’t stop after the first week, either. Students headed to the Quad for the Whitman Welcome Back BBQ, enjoying food, friends and a little sunshine. And for a different kind of stress relief, Bauer Hour Pet Therapy brings some four-legged company to Whitman, offering students a welcome, wellness break during a busy semester.  


Finding your place at Whitman is just the beginning. Even in your first month on campus, students are empowered to start thinking about where their Whitman education can take them next.  

Setting Up for Success 

From day one, Whitman students are encouraged to picture their future, and the Whitman Career Center’s Open House gave them the perfect opportunity to explore what that can look like. The Career Center helps students navigate everything from resumes and internships to full-time job searches, with career advisors on hand as a resource students can lean on throughout their time at Whitman. The Center also holds regular development events on topics like professional certifications, networking, interviewing and workplace readiness. 

That focus on professional skill-building continued with Academic Insights: Time Management Bootcamp, where students picked up practical strategies for balancing coursework, activities and everything else on their plate. It’s the kind of session that pays off well beyond the fall semester, with additional talks offered later on for students looking to build on those skills.  


In addition to in-house offerings, Whitman is fortunate to host a recurring stream of corporate partners and alumni on campus who meet with students, discuss recruiting, and offer a glimpse of what comes after graduation. 


Looking ahead, the Whitman IMPACT executive speaker series kicks off with its first guest of the year in October: Doug Sweeny ’90, Chief Marketing Officer at Oura Health. Doug brings an impressive background in technology, marketing and innovation, and his visit is a great reminder of just how far a Whitman education can take you. 

Expanding Outside of the Classroom  

Whitman offers nine majors, and the Whitman Major Mixer gave students room to explore what those paths actually look like (without needing to have it all figured out right away). Students heard directly from upperclassmen, faculty and academic advisors and gained a better sense of where their interests might lead. Students also connected with the many Whitman clubs and organizations that let them put their major into practice. 

Whitman emphasizes learning by doing, and the Experiential Center is where that comes to life. Alongside their coursework, students can choose from dozens of hands-on programs to put classroom concepts into practice and test their skills. That can mean pitching to real investors, competing in a national business competition, spending a semester abroad studying global markets, or partnering with an industry sponsor to solve a real challenge. 


That same hands-on spirit drives the Whitman Undergraduate Case Competition, a new initiative from Delta Sigma Pi, Whitman’s professional business fraternity. Participants will tackle a real-world business problem for a Syracuse-based company, testing their analytical, strategic and presentation skills while competing for cash prizes and the chance to showcase their work to industry professionals. Previously reserved for graduate students, the competition opened up to undergraduates this year after students voiced interest in the same opportunity. 


Technology is also finding its way into the classroom early on. Microsoft is working with Whitman’s first-year Business & Technology course, leading sessions on building AI agents using Copilot. The course is also where students work toward their Excel and AI certifications, preparing them for the tools they’ll use on the job. Running through mid-November, students will have the chance to complete their Excel certification exam, building on last year’s record-breaking completion rate. 


Sports is another area where Whitman students are putting classroom learning into a real-world context. Whitman recently joined Syracuse’s David B. Falk College of Sport, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and Syracuse University Athletics in welcoming Mike Levine of Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to campus for a conversation on the sports industry.  


And for students looking to take their Whitman experience beyond Syracuse, immersion courses offer another route, bringing classroom learning into communities and industries across the U.S. and abroad. Immersion Course Information Sessions, offered several times throughout the semester, give students a chance to learn more about these opportunities and are a good introduction to just how global a Whitman education can be. 

Looking Ahead 

Community, career and hands-on experience: this is what Whitman looks like in its first weeks, and it’s only the beginning of what’s ahead this year. Our advice to students? Get involved. Show up. Stay curious. The more actively engaged you are at Whitman, the more you’ll get out of it. The building is full, the semester is underway, and there’s plenty more still to come.