Whitman College is a privateliberal arts college located in Walla Walla, Washington. Initially founded as a seminary by a territorial legislative charter in 1859, the school became a four-year degree-granting institution in 1882.[3] Whitman College is accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and competes athletically in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference.[4] The school offers 48 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences,[5] and has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1.[4] Whitman was the first college in the Pacific Northwest to install a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, and the first school in the United States to require comprehensive exams for graduation.[3] Whitman was ranked tied for 41st in the nation in the 2017 U.S. News & World Report list of Best Liberal Arts Colleges.[6] Whitman's acceptance rate for 2015 was 41%.[7]