Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas.

After World War II, Southwestern became a small liberal arts institution, discontinuing its post-graduate degrees, disbanding the football team, and rebuilding much of the campus with a massive capital campaign.

Ninety-nine percent of the tenured or tenure-track faculty hold a doctorate or highest degree in their fields.

Southwestern University is located in Georgetown, Texas, about 30 miles (50 km) north of Austin.

The campus comprises 700 acres (2.8 km²) mostly located north of University Avenue, although the eastern portion of these lands remains largely undeveloped.

[citation needed] Mood-Bridwell Hall, originally a men's dormitory, was completed in 1908 and currently houses classrooms, faculty offices, a computer lab, the Debbie Ellis Writing Center, and an indoor atrium.

[citation needed] The Lois Perkins Chapel was built in 1950 and includes an Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ.

The Fayez Sarofim School of Fine Arts is housed in the Alma Thomas Fine Arts Building, originally built in 1956 on the former property of the Texas rancher Dudley Hiram Snyder, a Southwestern University benefactor.

Several groups on campus participate in social activism and awareness on campus and in the Austin area, including College Democrats, Students for Environmental Activism and Knowledge (SEAK), Latinos Unidos, EBONY, and Amnesty International.

Religious groups on campus include the national Christian fraternities Kappa Upsilon Chi, Christian sorority Sigma Phi Lambda, Jewish Student Association, Muslims and Allies, and Buddhist Meditation Group.

The Alpha Tau chapter is also a member of Southwestern’s umbrella organization the Coalition for Diversity and Social Justice.

Published online and biweekly in print, the newspaper focuses on the campus community, including sections on news, features, opinions/editorials, culture, and sports.

Currently published twice a year at the end of each semester, the magazine features student poetry, short stories, artwork, and photography.

[20] Southwestern competes in 20 varsity sports, including football, basketball, cross country, track & field, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, lacrosse, men's baseball, women's volleyball and women's softball.

The men's lacrosse team won the Lonestar Alliance Division II Championship for four consecutive years prior to becoming a varsity sport.