Hamilton College
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Catalogue

College Purposes and Goals

Commitment to the intellectual and personal development of students is Hamilton College's most important and enduring tradition. The faculty is dedicated to the promotion of academic achievement, integrity and personal growth. Hamilton students spend much of their time with their teachers and fellow students identifying problems, clarifying questions, thinking creatively, experimenting with solutions and frequently undertaking collaborative work. The College seeks mature and motivated students who desire to join this academic community and who are willing to take the responsibility for shaping their academic careers through sustained consultation with their advisors.

A Hamilton education is characterized by academic rigor and intellectual engagement. Faculty members provide opportunities for students of unusual talents to realize their fullest capacities, for their own benefit and that of the world in which they will live. To that end, professors design programs, courses and assignments that foster self-education and produce the intellectual toughness, creativity and flexibility necessary to excel in a rapidly changing world. Graduates should be poised to investigate new avenues of knowledge, to respond creatively to new and unexpected situations and to address problems and challenges in a morally and intellectually courageous manner.

The College expects its students to develop the ability to read, observe and listen with critical perception, and to think, write and speak with clarity, understanding and precision. Students should develop their appreciation for inquiry, combined with the confidence to evaluate arguments and to defend their own positions. They should learn to question creatively, derive information from and analyze data, and formulate hypotheses. They should recognize the limits of factual information and become attuned to how such information can be used and misused. Above all, students should develop respect for intellectual and cultural diversity because such respect promotes free and open inquiry, independent thought and mutual understanding.

At Hamilton, students are accorded freedom to pursue their own educational interests within the broad goals of a liberal arts education. In consultation with their advisors, Hamilton students regularly plan, assess and re-assess their educational progress and their success in fulfilling the ideals of the liberal arts.

Education in the liberal arts at Hamilton College comprises:

I. Foundations: The faculty expects that students will attain a high level of engagement early in their studies and will develop as creative and critical thinkers, writers and speakers. To achieve these aims, the College encourages all students to participate in at least four proseminars and requires all students to complete the Writing Program and the Quantitative Literacy Requirement.
1. The Proseminar Program: Proseminars emphasize active participation and engagement in learning. Proseminars offer intensive interaction among students, and between students and instructors, through emphasis on writing, speaking and discussion, and other approaches to inquiry and expression that demand such intensive interaction. Descriptions of proseminars are available through advisors and the Office of the Registrar.
2. The Writing Program: Students must pass at least three writing-intensive courses. For a full description of the Writing Program requirements, see "Standards for Written Work."
3. The Quantitative Literacy Requirement: Students must demonstrate basic quantitative literacy by passing a quantitative skills examination given during Orientation, or by passing a designated quantitative course, or by completing a non-credit tutorial. This requirement should be completed by the end of the second year. For a detailed description and list of courses, see "Standards for Quantitative Work."
II. Breadth in the Liberal Arts: As a liberal arts college, Hamilton expects students to undertake coursework in a wide variety of disciplines, to explore areas unfamiliar to them and to make connections across courses and disciplines. A liberally educated person studies in the traditional academic divisions of the arts, foreign languages, the humanities, mathematics, the sciences and the social sciences. Hamilton also emphasizes cultural analysis, including the study of non-western traditions and of diversity in the United States. Students will work with their advisors to determine how best to achieve this intellectual balance.

III. Concentration: Each student must meet the requirements for a concentration.

Students make progress toward meeting these goals by studying broadly across diverse areas of inquiry, guided by their advisors, and investigating a particular area of study more thoroughly by completing a concentration of their choosing. A faculty advisor assigned to each student provides information, advice and dialogue about choice of courses as the student strives to meet these goals. For many faculty members and students, this relationship will be as important as any they form. As the primary intellectual guide, the faculty determines the fundamental structure and the basic requirements of the curriculum in light of the liberal arts tradition and its appropriate adaptation to the contemporary world.

In sum, Hamilton's mission is to provide an educational experience that emphasizes academic excellence and the development of students as human beings. This experience centers on ready access to an exceptional faculty and can be shaped to meet each individual student's interests and aspirations. A Hamilton education prepares students to make choices and to accept the responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic world of intellect and diversity. It will be the foundation on which they build a lifetime of personal and professional achievement and satisfaction.