About St. John’s College
St. John’s College is a co-educational, four year liberal arts college known for its distinctive "great books" curriculum.
St. John's is a single college located on two campuses, one in Annapolis, Maryland, and another in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The campuses share an identical curriculum (changes must be approved by both halves of the faculty) and a single governing board. Each campus is limited to well under 500 students, and the faculty-student ratio is 1 to 8.
The all-required course of study is based on the reading, study, and discussion of the most important books of the Western tradition. There are no majors and no departments; all students follow the same program.
Students study from the classics of literature, philosophy, theology, psychology, political science, economics, history, mathematics, laboratory sciences, and music. No textbooks are used. The books are read in roughly chronological order, beginning with ancient Greece and continuing to modern times.
All classes are discussion-based. There are no class lectures; instead, the students meet together with faculty members (called tutors) to explore the books being read.
The Classes
Everyone at St. John’s takes the following classes:
- Four years of language (Ancient Greek and French)
- Four years of mathematics
- Four years of interdisciplinary study
- Three years of laboratory science (biology, physics, chemistry)
- One year of music
- Two eight-week elective discussions - Preceptorials
- A once-a-week lecture for the college as a whole
The Mission of Liberal Education
St. John’s College is a community dedicated to liberal education. Such education seeks to free men and women from the tyrannies of unexamined opinions and inherited prejudices. It also endeavors to enable them to make intelligent, free choices concerning the ends and means of both public and private life.
At St. John’s, freedom is pursued mainly through thoughtful conversation about great books of the Western tradition. The books that are at the heart of learning at St. John's stand among the original sources of our intellectual tradition. They are timeless and timely; they not only illuminate the persisting questions of human existence, but also have great relevance to contemporary problems. They change our minds, move our hearts, and touch our spirits.
The Graduate Institute
In 1967 The Graduate Institute in Liberal Education, based on the principles of the St. John's undergraduate program, was established. The Master of Arts in Liberal Arts Program is offered on both campuses. Since 1994 the Santa Fe campus has offered the Eastern Classics program, a structured reading of literary, philosophical, and theological texts of India, China, and Japan. For more information on both Masters degrees click here.