^^ Thanks.
Typically, this would mean that beyond the ~10 courses required for your major, you would be free to choose most or all of your remaining courses without restrictions.
This article discusses a few notable colleges with open curricula:
http://www.hercampus.com/life/9-most-flexible-colleges-country
Different colleges have different graduation requirements. One part of the graduation requirement is to complete the requirements for one’s major. In addition to classes in the major many schools have other required coursework – the idea of doing so is to develop well-rounded students who have had exposure to a number of different areas. As I see it these other requirements (if any) can be handled in the following manners:
–Schools with a very strict core curriculum requiring classes in a variety of disciplines. A number of the classes can be required and some others may be electives within an academic area. Examples of this may be found at Columbia and many Jesuit colleges.
–Schools which require students to take classes in a number of different academic areas but give a good bit of leeway for individual choice. My daughter’s school, Lafayette College, would fit into this group as would many many other colleges and universities.
–Schools with few or no requirements outside of completing the necessary number of credits and the coursework for the major. Examples can be found at Brown and Amherst.
For most colleges you can google the schools graduation requirements and/or core curriculum to get an idea of required coursework. One is not better or worse, but it is a matter of fit and what a student is looking for.
Perhaps the most extreme example:
Evergreen State – no subject requirements for the BA degree:
http://evergreen.edu/registration/degrees