The Wheaton Curriculum
A liberal arts curriculum prepares students to make knowledgeable choices, to solve problems and to lead enriched lives. Wheaton's unique Connections curriculum invites students to see how different disciplines approach similar issues, and therefore to look at problems from multiple perspectives. Students at Wheaton are also encouraged to see the connections among their academic, co-curricular and work experiences, and to think, learn, analyze, evaluate, understand and express themselves within and about all aspects of their lives.
These goals are accomplished through both the structure of the curriculum and the intellectual process that takes place inside and outside the classroom. A first-year seminar and foundational courses in writing, quantitative analysis, foreign language and the world beyond the Western tradition are followed or accompanied by students' choosing or even creating their course Connections. From this breadth of vision students move to an in-depth look at a discipline through choosing a major field of interest. The intensity of discourse inside the classroom and the active learning promoted by a distinguished faculty are matched by out-of-class learning with one's peers in a multitude of settings on and off campus.
The Wheaton curriculum consists of four parts:
- Foundations, to assure sophisticated skills in writing and quantitative analysis, and a knowledgeable approach to the broader world.
- Connections, pairs or sets of courses connected across disciplinary boundaries to provide a broad view of the world of knowledge.
- The Major and an optional Minor, to ensure students an in-depth exploration of their interests.
- Electives, to allow students to expand their intellectual and creative interests.