St Johns MD and Santa Fe

St Johns, there’s no place like it unless you are talking about its peer location.  St Johns has one campus in Annapolis and has been around since the 1700’s.  It opened a second campus in Santa Fe New Mexico in 1964.  But what makes St Johns truly unique are its academics.  There are no majors.  There are no lectures.  There are no text books. All students take the same classes and have the exact same curriculum.  These classes are based on the “Great Books” and includes the works of Socrates, Plato, Newton, Einstein, and others.  Students learn by reading these thinkers original works and then discussing them in class.  Class size ranges from 8 - 20 at most.  Class discussions are lead by tutors who at other universities would be considered professors.    They are viewed as tutors at St Johns because their role is not so much to teach as to guide the discussion and serves as a model learner.  There are no final exams.  Grades are based on papers and class participation.  In fact, the papers often do not come back with a grade on them.  Instead after the paper is returned, the tutor may set up conferences with each student to discuss their work.The curriculum includes 4 years of math where students discuss the various theories of Euclid and Ptolemy, their thinking behind their theories and how math built upon itself.  Students also study two years of Greek and French, 3 years of laboratory science, 1 year of music and 4 years of Great Books seminars.  

The experience is intense.  Many students take the year between Sophomore and Junior year off and its not unusual to take 6 years to graduate.  When students have completed the program, their degree is viewed as a double major in Philosophy and the History of Math  & Science with a minor in Literature and Classical Studies.  Because the academic experience is so unique transfer students must start out as freshmen regardless of how many years they completed at other institutions.  Similarly,  the school does not recognize other  academic abroad experiences.  Instead, Johnies may switch their campus for a year to get that “other experience.”    In Annapolis students spend their time partaking of intramural sports and living a more urban life in Annapolis.  Santa Fe’s student life tends to include a more “outdoorsie” experience.

Not surprisingly, the students attracted to this unique academic experience tend to be unique themselves.  They are highly intellectual, sometimes nerdy.  Some are social.  Some are anti-social but they all tend to dance to the beat of their own drum.  Having such an intense stringent academic experience some may think would lead to intense competition.  In fact, it’s just the opposite.  St John’s provides a close knit community that accepts all.