The University of Mount Union is a private liberal arts university in Alliance, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until 2019. It had an enrollment of 2,100 students as of 2023. as "a place where men and women could be educated with equal opportunity, science would parallel the humanities, and there would be no distinction due to race, color, or sex." Only three years after opening, in 1849, it was renamed as the Mount Union Seminary.
The school would not be chartered under Ohio state law until June 9, 1856, after which it adopted the name Mount Union College.
In approximately 1911, Scio College of Scio, Ohio, merged with Mount Union, moving faculty to the Mount Union campus and abandoning the Scio campus. Mount Union College was renamed University of Mount Union effective August 1, 2010.
Campus
thumb|Chapman Hall houses many of the humanities classrooms and faculty offices.
The University of Mount Union is located on a campus in Alliance, Ohio, from Cleveland, Ohio, and from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Two buildings, Chapman Hall and Miller Hall, are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Kehres Stadium is the oldest college stadium in the state of Ohio. The university also offers Pre-Health/Pre-Medicine and Pre-Law programs. Mount Union offers 13 master's degree programs, most of which are online. The university also has a Doctor of Physical Therapy program and an Emergency Nurse Practitioner certificate program.
Undergraduate admissions
In 2024, Mount Union accepted 75.7% of undergraduate applicants, with those admitted having an average 3.33 high school GPA. The university does not require submission of standardized test scores, Mount Union being a test optional school where scores will only be considered if scores increase the scholarship level for which the applicant is eligible although applicants who choose not to submit test scores are still eligible for academic scholarships. Those accepted that submitted test scores had an average 1070 SAT score (17% submitting scores) or average 22 ACT score (64% submitting scores). An application essay is required.
Student life
Mount Union's radio station is 91.1 WRMU, and the campus paper is The Dynamo.
The university's music program offers participation in numerous bands and choirs, including Concert Choir, Mount Union Alliance Chorale, Opera Workshop, Alliance Symphony Orchestra, Repertory Strings, Marching Band, The Raider Steel Band, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, and more.
The Theatre Department puts on two productions every fall, and varying productions in the spring. Every spring semester alternates between a musical and a straight play every year for the main stage show, and every spring there are also student-directed one-acts. Theatre productions are open to all students, regardless of major or class rank.
In the spring of 2019, the University of Mount Union started its Esports program by fielding its first Overwatch roster. Later, the team began competing in Overwatch, League of Legends, and Rocket League.
Greek Life
There are four major social fraternities and four major social sororities with chapters at the institution. All eight chapters complete thousands of hours of community service and donate thousands of dollars to philanthropic organizations each semester. Greek Life at Mount Union is well known on the campus and throughout the community.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Fraternities
!Greek Symbol
!Founded Nationally
!Nickname
|-
|Alpha Tau Omega
|ATΩ
|1865
|A-T-O
|-
|Phi Kappa Tau
|ΦKΤ
|1906
|P-K-T
|-
|Sigma Alpha Epsilon
|ΣΑΕ
|1856
|S-A-E
|-
|Sigma Nu
|ΣΝ
|1869
|Sig Nu
|}
{| class="wikitable"
!Sororities
!Greek Symbol
!Founded Nationally
!Nickname
|-
|Alpha Chi Omega
|AΧΩ
|1885
|A-Chi-O
|-
|Alpha Delta Pi
|ΑΔΠ
|1851
|A-D-Pi
|-
|Alpha Xi Delta
|ΑΞΔ
|1893
|A-Z-D
|-
|Delta Sigma Tau
|ΔΣΤ
|1990
|D-S-T
|}
Athletics
thumb|Mount Union athletics logo
Mount Union's school colors are purple and white and competes in the Ohio Athletic Conference and in NCAA Division III athletics. The teams are nicknamed Purple Raiders, and the school's mascot is MUcaw, a purple macaw.
Mount Union sponsors 12 men's varsity teams: baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, track & field, soccer, swimming, diving, tennis, lacrosse, wrestling, and volleyball. The school also sponsors 12 women's varsity teams: basketball, cross-country, flag football, golf, lacrosse, track & field, soccer, softball, swimmingand diving, tennis, volleyball, and wrestling.
Intramural sports include flag football, dodgeball, innertube water polo, ultimate frisbee, beach volleyball, 2 person golf scramble, men's basketball, women's basketball, softball, indoor soccer, indoor volleyball, 2 on 2 basketball, badminton, and pickleball.
Mount won the NCAA Men's Division III Cross Country Championship in 1974 under Coach Jim Wuske, the NCAA Men's Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2017, and in 2014 and 2018 Mount Union won the NCAA Men's Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships under Coach Kevin Lucas. The men’s basketball team was retroactively listed of the top team of the 1897–98 season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.
Football
thumb|Kehres Stadium, home of the Mount Union football team
Mount Union's football is currently led by head coach Geoff Dartt. The Purple Raiders have claimed 13 NCAA Division III Football Championships, 36 OAC titles, and have 12 undefeated seasons.
Mount Union holds the all-division record for consecutive victories at 55 from 2000 to 2003, which ended with their loss to St. John's University (Collegeville, MN) in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl (Division III National Championship) on December 20, 2003. Mount Union previously held the all divisions mark at 54 consecutive games until losing in the semifinals on December 12, 1999, to Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ). Since both streaks were connected, Mount Union won 109 of 110 games played from 1997 to 2003.