Colleges with minimal core requirements

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I know that Brown doesn't have any required classes, and I also realize that WashU has a very limited amount of required classes, and both schools allow you to inter-major between programs. I was wondering what other schools share this "relaxed" style of core curriculum and majors. </p>

<p>Thanks
Danny</p>

2

<p>I visited Brown and Amherst this summer and know that neither of those have core curricula. I am also fairly certain that Hamilton and Grinnell don't either.</p>

3

<p>Grinnell doesn't have core curricula, but it does have distribution requirements for number of credits outside a single department and/or division.</p>

<p>Vassar is another open-curriculum school. Others may have loose distribution requirements (e.g. Williams) while yet others will be quite strict (e.g. Scripps). Read the college catalog carefully.</p>

4

<p>university of rochester
i thought that washu had a strong core?
i guess i am really wrong
haha</p>

5

<p>Carnegie Mellon actually has a pretty small core curriculum that's required for all majors. I think the only two required classes for everyone are Interpretation & Argument (freshman English course) and the intro to computer programming. There might be a requirement that everyone takes a semester of calculus too. Other than those few basics it's really up to your department what you need to take (which, really, if you're in a technical curriculum, you'll have to take them no matter what since they're necessary building blocks for higher-level courses).</p>

6

<p>"i thought that washu had a strong core?"</p>

<p>Wash U only requires one course. Its a freshman writing course.</p>

7

<p>New College of Florida comes to mind.</p>

8

<p>Vassar is open except for a language requirement.</p>

<p>My school, Wesleyan, has distribution "suggestions" which aren't required to graduate, but are required for honors in most majors and for Phi Beta Kappa. They're pretty simple, though: </p>

<p>Math/Sciences: 3 classes, at least 2 different departments
Social Sciences: 3 classes, at least 2 different departments
Arts and Humanities: 3 classes, at least 2 different departments</p>

<p>Openness in the curriculum was definitely something I wanted when looking at colleges, and fulfilling Wes’s distribution suggestions hasn’t been a problem for me.</p>