About Us

** Few American institutions of higher learning as old as Norwich University still closely adhere to the educational principles of its founders.**

Norwich is one of the exceptions and in a very substantial sense the institution today is the lengthened shadow of its founder, Captain Alden Partridge. The educational philosophy of Alden Partridge continues to guide Norwich University as it approaches its 200th anniversary and serves as a touchstone by which the university can be measured and appraised.

Captain Alden Partridge (1785–1854) probably did more than any other individual to promote military education in civilian institutions in the United States prior to the Civil War. Partridge originated a novel system of education which combined civilian and military studies in order to produce enlightened and useful citizen-soldiers. Like John Milton, Alden Partridge saw the ideal education as a liberal one which prepares youth for the responsibilities of peace and war. The fundamental promise of Partridge’s thinking was that education must prepare youth “to discharge, in the best possible manner, the duties they owe to themselves, to their fellow-men, and to their country.”

For more than four decades the remarkably energetic Partridge labored relentlessly to promote what he called the “American System of Education.” He first attempted to introduce his ideas at the United States Military Academy, but the frustration he met with there prompted him to establish the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy at Norwich, Vermont, in 1819. The Vermont institution served as a model for several private military academies and colleges founded by Partridge, or his students, at locations throughout the United States prior to Partridge’s death in 1854.

Mission Statement

You want a remarkable life...

One filled with purpose and with passion. At Norwich University we've been educating leaders since 1819. Our students achieve at the highest level in and out of the classroom. They excel mentally, physically, and morally, as people of honor and integrity.

No matter what field you choose to study, your Norwich education is designed to ready you for your career and give you a competitive advantage.