Skip to main content

Academic Facilities at Willamette College

At Willamette, classrooms don’t have walls. Learning happens everywhere.

Willamette Is Built for Hands-On Learning

Willamette’s campus is full of spaces designed for exploration, from cozy academic hearths where you can meet with professors, to cutting-edge labs where you’ll test your ideas, and studios where creativity takes shape. Wherever you go, you’ll find places that spark discovery and connection so you can turn knowledge into action.

Spaces for Connection

Designed to bring learning out of the classroom, Willamette’s Academic Hearths create natural gathering spaces where students and faculty connect beyond formal instruction. Grab a coffee, chat with professors, or brainstorm with friends; the Hearths are where ideas and friendships take shape.

  • 11 Academic Hearths located throughout campus
  • Each Academic Hearth is a thoughtfully designed space located strategically near department and faculty offices
  • Academic Hearths function as a place to study, hang out, get questions answered, and complete group projects
  • Professors have scheduled office hours and also have an open door policy
Willamette students and a professor in an academic hearth

Spaces for Innovation

Our STEM facilities are built for discovery. From state-of-the-art instruments to immersive field experiences, students gain the support needed to test hypotheses, conduct original research, and prepare for advanced study or professional careers.

A Willamette student works in a chemistry or biology lab
Features two human cadavers each year, a digital dissection table, and augmented reality using the Visible Body Application.
Collects salvage data from damaged Oregon oaks. These trees are iconic in the Willamette Valley and contain valuable information in their tree rings about past climate and other environmental conditions.
This lab features AutoCAD Map, ArcGIS Desktop, ARTAX, s1pxrf. Stella, EdGCM.
  • Used by Clinical Healthcare, Biomechanics, Physiology of Exercise, among other courses
  • Psychology and health science students monitor live data on muscle and brain activity
  • Features six Biopac data acquisition systems
  • Metabolic Lab offers metabolic rate testing
Eight Leica DM2500 compound microscopes that students use to explore everything from algae to cells.
  • 305-acre forest and farm property about 15 minutes from campus
  • Used by many class and student groups such as Zena Farm Club

Spaces for Creativity

Performing Arts

From the first rehearsal to the final curtain call, Willamette’s performing arts spaces are designed to showcase talent and foster collaboration. Students have access to a range of performance venues and rehearsal spaces that support theatre, dance, and music at every level. Take the stage in Pelton Theatre or perform alongside the Oregon Symphony in Smith Auditorium.

Students from Willamette Dance Company performing.

Fine Arts

Creativity thrives in spaces that inspire. Willamette’s fine arts facilities provide students with studios, museum resources, and exhibition opportunities that bring classroom learning to life, and support artistic exploration across media. From the smell of ink in the print studio to the glow of the lighting lab, every space at Willamette is built to help artists bring their ideas to life.

Willamette students display their artwork at the Senior Art Show

Explore the Facilities That Support Our Performing Arts Programs

Student choir performing in Hudson Hall during the holidays.

  • Seats 450 and is the primary venue for music performances
  • Additional rehearsal and performance spaces are available for students

Student working with theater lights.

  • Hosts the theatre department’s plays and dance concerts
  • It is home to majors in theatre and musical theatre

Students posing on stage at Smith auditorium.

  • Provides the largest performance space on campus, which is used for the Willamette Dance Company and the Oregon Symphony’s Salem series
  • Provides additional practice rooms

Learn in Well-Equipped Studios Designed for Creative Exploration.

Digital Art and Music Recording Studios

Drawing Studio

Electronic Media Studio

Installation Studio

Lighting Studio

Painting Studio

Photography Classroom & Darkroom

Printmaking Studio

Tintype Photography Studio

Sculpture Studio

Spaces for Support and Student Success

Academic excellence thrives on support, and Willamette offers comprehensive academic resources that help every student succeed. Whether you’re writing a paper, learning data analysis, or honing your study habits, these centers provide the expertise, technology, and encouragement to help you reach your goals.

The Digital Learning Studio at Willamette University

Academic Support Centers

  • Assists with building skills such as time management and study strategies
  • Organizes study groups, works with students one-on-one, manages a list of subject tutors and classes with embedded tutors
  • Provides students and faculty with support for academic technology, including:
    • Adobe Creative Cloud
    • Video and audio editing programs
    • Language resources
    • Assistance with academic technologies
    • Poster and graphic design systems
  • Students have 24/7 access
  • Includes a 24/7 study space and a space dedicated to quiet study
  • Reference librarians focus on specific areas of study and are available to help with research by appointment
  • Participates in inter-library loan program to access books and materials at other Pacific Northwest university libraries
  • Printing is available at no cost
  • Includes non-academic books, novels, DVDs, puzzles and games.
  • The Library of Things was funded through a CAFES student grant and includes arts, crafts, and sewing items (hot glue gun, paper trimmer, sewing machine), electronics (external DVD drive, Nintendo Switch, projector and screen, laptop chargers), school supplies (graphing calculator, markers), outdoor items (tent, camping chair, hammock), and tools (cordless drill kit, bike repair kit)
  • Supports students and faculty in their efforts to develop and apply quantitative reasoning skills
  • Offers tutoring in statistics, computer science, and data science
  • Supports computing in a variety of languages (R, Python, SQL) and software (GIS, Jamovi, Excel)
The ThinkTank is a study space for individuals, groups, and drop-in tutoring.
The Writing Center is staffed by Consultants who are available to help with any writing project at any stage of work.

Willamette University