The Christian Connection, a faith movement originating in the United States, established Elon College in 1889. It became a university in 2001. Today, the university is not affiliated to a particular branch of Christianity.

The university has a liberal arts curriculum, giving students a balanced grounding in arts, sciences and humanities, as well as thinking skills. This forms the foundation for 60 undergraduate majors, professional programmes, Master’s degrees in five fields and doctoral programs in law and physical therapy.

A high proportion of Elon students have experience abroad, making it one of the top master’s-level universities in the US for international education. Students from almost 50 different countries come to study at Elon. The university has a reputation for producing Fulbright Scholars and Peace Corps volunteers, who go on to work in international development and further study abroad.

The university often invites guest speakers, previous prominent examples of which have included US Presidents Lyndon B Johnson, George H W Bush and Bill Clinton, astronauts Buzz Aldrin and John Glenn and Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

The Elon University campus has been commended for its beautiful setting, with 636 acres of trees, historic buildings and green spaces. The campus strives to be eco-friendly through initiatives such as recycling schemes and two carpool systems. It is located in the town of Elon in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. The city of Burlington lies a short drive away.