Swarthmore College (/ˈswɑːθ.mɔːr/ SWAHTH-mor locally, or /ˈswɔːrθ.mɔːr/ SWAWRTH-mor), is a private liberal arts college located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles (17.7 km) southwest of Philadelphia.

Founded in 1864, Swarthmore was one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. The school was organized by a committee of Quakers from three "Hicksite" yearly meetings: Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia. Many of the founders were prominent in the abolitionist and women's rights movements and other social concerns and included Edward Parrish, (1822-1872), Deborah and Joseph Wharton, Benjamin Hallowell, and James and Lucretia Mott, (1793-1880). Swarthmore was established to be a college, "...under the care of Friends, at which an education may be obtained equal to that of the best institutions of learning in our country." By 1906, Swarthmore dropped its religious affiliation, becoming officially non-sectarian.