St. John’s College

St. John’s College is a privately owned and operated, four-year liberal arts college with two campuses; one located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and the other in Annapolis, Maryland. St. John’s College was first established in 1696 as a college preparatory school, known at the time as King William’s School. It was chartered as a college in 1784, nearly two hundred and thirty years ago, making it one of the oldest colleges in the United States.

Since the early 20th century, St. John’s College has offered students a unique curriculum known as the Great Books Program, based on the study of approximately 50 to 100 books that constitute the foundation of Western literature. The books cover topics such as religion, mathematics, history, science and literature.

Unlike most other undergraduate colleges of its kind, St. John’s College offers just one bachelor’s degree program (in liberal arts). Students seeking a graduate degree have the opportunity of earning a master’s degree in liberal arts or Eastern Classics through the St. John Graduate Institute. The master’s degree program in liberal arts follows a similiar curriculum to that offered in the bachelor’s degree program, however, the master’s degree does not require students to fulfill a foreign language requirement and students have more autonomy to select their courses. The master’s degrees in Eastern Classics covers a list of classic literary works from China, Japan and India. It’s based a format similar to that employed in the undergraduate liberal arts program which follows a predetermined sequence of course, seminars and language study.

Even though St. John’s College offers study of the Bible and explores the teachings of various Christian philosophers, theologians and historical figures, the college is nonsectarian.