Experience a rigorous yet flexible curriculum in small classes that ignite big ideas. Customize your education to suit your interests, aspirations and learning style.
A Small College With a Big Reputation
View Our 45 Undergraduate Programs7:1
Student-to-faculty ratio at New College
98%
New College faculty who hold a doctorate or terminal degree
#14
Most innovative school in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report
#2
Washington Monthly ranks New College #2 among all public liberal arts colleges
Areas of Concentration
Choose one of our 45 areas of concentration (majors) or design a multi-disciplinary or special area of concentration. Explore your interests and discover new ones as you choose from hundreds of courses, tutorials, labs, and seminars. With an average faculty-to-student ratio of 7:1, you’ll never take a class in a lecture hall with hundreds of students.
Academic Contracts
Work with your faculty adviser to build a custom academic contract each semester. Select three to five academic activities (e.g., courses, tutorials, internships, independent study projects) that advance your educational and career interests. Your adviser will help you set short- and long-term goals, meet curricular and graduation requirements, and design an educational experience that is uniquely suited to your needs. How cool is that?
Narrative Evaluations
Did we mention we don’t have traditional letter grades here? Narrative evaluations are our thing. Instead of GPAs, our professors give you in-depth performance reviews each semester that tell YOUR story (just like in the professional world). These evaluations provide outstanding material for grad school applications and job references.
Independent Study Period
The January Interterm at New College is an Independent Study Period, and it’s your time to explore outside the classroom (no classes during this month)! Try something new through an immersive experience (whether that is a lab experiment, a scholarly paper, a creative endeavor, an internship or a study abroad opportunity). Here are some examples of recent ISPs:
- Coral reef ecology field internship in Panama
- Fighting red tide (and looking towards a fungal solution)
- Developing a robotic prosthetic hand
- Using big data to solve economic and social problems
Senior Capstone Project
This is your finale—your piece de resistance! We call it a senior capstone project or thesis, but it’s really the culmination of your journey here at New College—whether it takes the form of a scientific research paper or a theatrical performance. With coaching from your faculty adviser, you’ll be ready to defend your work during the baccalaureate exam before you graduate. Sound like grad school? We know. That’s what makes it so impressive. Here are some examples:
- Sarasota Bay: A Newly Defined Nursery Area for Blacktip Sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) on the Gulf Coast of Florida
- Footprints in the Atmosphere: A Quantitative Analysis of Community Carbon Emissions to Ignite Collective Climate Action
- Cultural Gentrification: Hip-Hop & Racial Epistemologies in the United States