We prefer defining our own path for discovery.
This is your education. Imagine what happens when you have the freedom to explore combinations of academic interests, issues within society, and other parts of the world? When it happens alongside the support and resources you’ll find at Grinnell, we think you uncover an intellectual journey that’s never done before.
The Academic Experience
At Grinnell, you plot your own academic path. With no core curriculum, general education, or distribution
requirements, you’re free to explore and specialize as you choose. From the First-Year Tutorial and First Year-Experience: Connections through Mentored Advanced Projects and advanced seminars, you’ll discover what it means to learn like a Grinnellian.
A liberal arts foundation.
You’ll gather information. You’ll collaborate with thinkers of every kind. You’ll deconstruct materials and reconstruct methods. You’ll also sharpen your skills for communicating what you’re working on, how it relates to others, and why it matters for the greater world.
An individually advised curriculum.
Your interests will grow, combine, and veer in uncharted directions. That’s good, because we believe that’s where new opportunities take hold. Working with your adviser, you’ll have the freedom and guidance to put together a curriculum tailored just for you.
Creativity and innovation.
To bring new ideas to the table and then out into the world, you have to question what’s been done before. Here, we encourage you to venture into unknown territory in new fields and different philosophies.
Majors & Concentrations
Some set a plan in stone. Others set a few ideas in motion.
Working alongside your advisers, you’ll choose from over 500 courses across our many divisions and departments. You don’t have to declare a major until the second half of your sophomore year. So you’ve got time to explore your options, or you can focus your interests from the get-go.
Global
Studying abroad for a semester is just the start.
At Grinnell, global understanding goes beyond a single experience. Every place, every point in time, and every culture, brings with a unique point of view and version of the human experience. On campus, Grinnellians study these experiences and use them as lenses for approaching our disciplines, communities, and our impact on others. You’ll have access to global programs for language development, intercultural exchange, and community engagement, for here or wherever your studies take you.
Academic Resources
At Grinnell, you never have to go it alone. As you grow your interests and advance further in your area of study, you’ll have multiple advisers, resources, and networks to support you, every step of the way.
Advising
Behind every Grinnellian’s success is a set of life-changing mentors. They’ll give you the guidance and support you need to make an intellectual journey that’s tailored entirely to you.
Centers and Programs
Grinnell is home to a wide variety of organizations, partnerships, programs, and more. That’s even more space and mentors for let your intellectual interests to take hold.
Academic Support
To accommodate all types of learning styles, research topics, and cross-disciplinary approaches, we have several labs filled with people ready to help you, tutor you, and answer your questions.
Libraries
A growing world of information, waiting for you to explore.
The expert faculty and staff at our three libraries are available to help connect you to the resources and you need to dive even deeper into inquiry.