St. John's College, U. S.

St. John's College describes itself as one college on two campuses: St. John's College, Annapolis and St. John's College, Santa Fe. St. John's College, Annapolis was chartered in 1784, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the U.S. The College incorporated the assets of King William's school, a grammar or preparatory school founded in 1696.

Curriculum Overview

The program involves:

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• Four years of literature and philosophy in seminar
• Four years of mathematics
• Three years of laboratory science
• Two years of Ancient Greek
• Two years of French
• Freshman year chorus followed by sophomore year music

The Great Books are not literally the only texts used at St. John's. Greek and French classes make use of supplemental materials that are more like traditional textbooks. Science laboratory courses and mathematics courses use manuals prepared by faculty members that combine source materials with workbook exercises. For example, the mathematics tutorial combines a 1905 paper by Albert Einstein with exercises that require the student to work through the mathematics used in the paper.

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Nevertheless, the emphasis on source materials is strong; all seminar readings are from the book list, and music is studied from scores that are primary sources.

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