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Great Books Colleges

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    Baylor University (Waco, TX): The Great Texts program focuses on foundational works from antiquity to the present.
  • Benedictine College (Atchison, KS): Great Books curriculum is an option for students to fulfill general education requirements.
  • Biola University (La Mirada, CA): The Torrey Honors Institute focuses on teaching the Great Books and exploring ideas through Socratic discussion.
  • Boston University (Boston, MA): An elective core curriculum is based on the Great Books.
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  • Brock University (St. Catharines, Ontario, CAN): The Liberal Studies Program is oriented toward the Great Books.
  • Christendom College (Front Royal, VA): The core curriculum is based on the Great Books.
  • Clemson University (Clemson, SC): Great Works of Western Civilization is an undergraduate minor.
  • Columbia University (New York, NY): Masterpieces of Western Literature and Philosophy is a year-long course.
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  • Concordia University (Montreal, Quebec, CAN): This liberal arts college focuses on the Great Books.
  • East Carolina University (Greenville, NC): Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences sponsors an interdisciplinary program in the Great Books.
  • Eastern University (St. Davids, PA): Templeton Honors College has a Great Books core.
  • Faulkner University (Montgomery, AL): Great Books Honors provides an honors track that integrates with each undergraduate degree program.
  • Franciscan University of Steubenville (Steubenville, OH): The Honors Program is centered on the close reading and discussion of the Great Books.
  • George Wythe University (UT): Academics focus on the classical canon of Western civilization.
  • Gutenberg College (Eugene, OR): The college features a broad-based Great Books curriculum.
  • Hillsdale College (Hillsdale, MI): The core curriculum includes Great Books courses.
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  • Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS): The University offers a primary texts certificate.
  • Kentucky State University (Frankfort, KY): The Great Books are a key component of the curriculum in the Whitney Young School of Honors and Liberal Studies.
  • Lawrence University (Appleton, WI): The freshman studies program focuses on the Great Books.
  • Lynchburg College (Lynchburg, VA): The Lynchburg College Symposium Readings Program revolves around the Great Books.
  • Malaspina U (CAN): The liberal studies program focuses on the Great Books.
  • Mercer University (Macon, GA): The Great Books program is one of two general education tracks in the College of Liberal Arts.
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  • Middle Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro, TN): A Great Books minor is available.
  • New Saint Andrews College (Moscow, ID): The curriculum is related to the classics and Great Books.
  • North Park University (Chicago, IL): A two-semester chronological program is available to honors students.
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  • Northwestern State University of Louisiana (Natchitoches, LA): The Louisiana Scholars College combines Great Books based courses with other offerings.
  • Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, OH): Offered through the classics major, Ohio Wesleyan's program focuses on classics of Greek and Roman thought and literature.
  • Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA): Seaver College offers the Great Books colloquium as a four-course sequence on masterpieces of Western civilization.
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  • Princeton University (Princeton, NJ): The Great Books are part of the program of freshman seminars in the residential colleges.
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  • Quest University (Squamish, BC (CAN)): The required first-year core includes many features of a classic Great Books approach.
  • Saint Anselm College (Manchester, NH): A major is offered in liberal studies in the Great Books.
  • Southern Virginia University (Buena Vista, VA): The college offers a comprehensive liberal arts education based on the Great Books.
  • St. John's College (Annapolis, MD): The model of the Great Books colleges, St. John's offers a four-year, non-elective curriculum in which students read, discuss, and write about the seminal works that have shaped the world.
  • St. John's College (Santa Fe, NM): The model of the Great Books colleges, St. John's offers a four-year, non-elective curriculum in which students read, discuss, and write about the seminal works that have shaped the world.
  • St. Mary's College of California (Moraga, CA): The Integral Liberal Arts Program includes a Great Books emphasis.
  • St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN): The Great Conversation is an integrated sequence of five courses taken over two years.
  • Temple University (Philadelphia, PA): The Intellectual Heritage Program is a group of foundation courses required for students in the college of arts and sciences.
  • The University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX): The Thomas Jefferson Center for Core Ideas and Texts offers serious study of original writings and in collaboration with the Liberal Arts Honors Humanities Program offers a major in the Great Books
  • Thomas Aquinas College (Santa Paula, CA): A full Great Books curriculum is in place, with no majors or minors, no electives, and no specializations.
  • Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (Merrimack, NH): All students take a six-hour humanities course through the four years. Much of the learning is based on the Great Books. Students also are required to study Latin or Greek.
  • University of Chicago (Chicago, IL): The curriculum consists of a four-year sequence of Great Books readings.
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  • University of Dallas (Irving, TX): Constantin College of Liberal Arts core curriculum offers a comprehensive Great Books curriculum.
  • University of Michigan—Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, MI): With rare exceptions, first-year honor students are required to take a Great Books course in each semester.
  • University of North Texas (Denton, TX): The Great Books program is an interdisciplinary major in the college of arts and sciences.
  • University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN): The Program of Liberal Studies is a three-year, prescribed sequence of seminars and specialized courses or tutorials anchored in the Western and Catholic traditions.
  • University of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA): The Saint Ignatius Institute offers "rigorous academics rooted in the Great Books."
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  • University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI): Through the college of letters and science, the university offers a certificate program that is grounded in the Great Books.
  • Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT): The College of Letters is an interdisciplinary major program for the study of Western literature, history, and philosophy. It has the Great Books as its core.
  • Whitman College (Walla Walla, WA): The General Studies Program is a two-semester exploration of the formation and transformation of some western worldviews using the Great Books.
  • Wyoming Catholic College (Lander, WY): The curriculum is built around the Great Books, reflecting a philosophy that students should learn directly from the greatest thinkers.

Find Your College: A Guide to Great Books Schools

For students who believe in the power of timeless ideas and original texts, a "Great Books" college offers a truly distinctive and rewarding education. This academic approach focuses on a core curriculum built around the most influential works of Western civilization, from ancient philosophy and literature to modern thought. Unlike a traditional lecture-based format, these programs typically employ a Socratic, seminar-style discussion where students and faculty engage directly with the material, fostering a deeper understanding and encouraging critical thinking.

Choosing a college with a Great Books curriculum means committing to a rigorous intellectual journey. Students in these programs often read foundational texts by authors like Plato, Aristotle, Shakespeare, and Virginia Woolf, among many others. The goal is not just to absorb information but to participate in a "Great Conversation" that has shaped human thought for centuries. This kind of education is ideal for self-motivated learners who enjoy close reading, spirited debate, and exploring big questions about life, knowledge, and society.

This list showcases a variety of institutions that champion the Great Books tradition. Prominent examples include St. John's College, renowned for its non-elective, four-year curriculum centered on these texts, and Thomas Aquinas College, which has a similar, highly focused approach. Other notable schools that offer Great Books programs or a strong emphasis on them are the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and Hillsdale College. Whether you're interested in a specialized liberal arts college or a larger university with an honors program, this guide can help you find a school that aligns with your intellectual curiosity and provides an education that is both broad and profound.

FYI, this list is from The College Finder, 2017 edition.

List produced by the Facts . Want more information on how this list was compiled? Find out more about where our Lists & Rankings come from.

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