A liberal arts education at New College can be thought of as having two components: breadth, assuring that you taste knowledge in each of the divisions of the arts and sciences, and depth, in the form of a "major," which at New College is called an "Area of Concentration." We participate in the tradition that defines a proper undergraduate education as including significant elements of breadth and depth. This means that you should plan to complete courses or other educational activities in all three of the academic divisions at the College.  In addition, faculty have identified a broad range of courses from which you can choose to assure that you acquire the breadth of knowledge expected of a liberal arts graduate. Depth at New College is addressed in the specific requirements for the completion of an Area of Concentration in the various academic disciplines. You also will complete a "Thesis Prospectus," which, in addition to describing your plans for your senior thesis, will outline the courses, tutorials, and other educational activities that have been selected to provide the requisite depth of knowledge in your chosen area.

Thus, at New College, there are no specific "core course" requirements. Rather, you use your contracts, fashioned in collaboration with your advisor and other faculty, to develop goals and educational activities that are meaningful to you, while at the same time fulfilling the College's expectations for breadth and depth.

Your Area of Concentration at New College may take one of several forms. It may be divisional (Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences); disciplinary (art history, physics, sociology for example); joint-disciplinary (biology/psychology), or a special program or topic of your own devising.

At New College, all areas of concentration, whatever the type, reflect the results of the dialogue you, the student, have with faculty members and peers. Within each disciplinary concentration, the specific mix of courses, tutorials, fieldwork, study abroad, and so on may vary from student to student.

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