Graduate Institute Brochure

A genuine liberal education

begins with a shared under-

standing of the ideas and

questions that help define

our intellectual heritage.

At St. John’s, students of

many ages and backgrounds

cultivate the liberal arts

through direct engagement

with the books in which the

greatest minds of civilization

have expressed themselves.

The Gr aduat eInstitut e

St JOHN’SCollege

a n n a p o l i s • s a n t a f e

T here is no other college quite like St. John’s. Here, there

are no lecture courses, no textbooks, no written finals,

no departments, no professors. Instead, the college

offers small discussion classes, books that are classics,

oral examinations each semester, a college-wide community of

learning, and teachers who are called tutors rather than professors.

In the Graduate Institute, students with diverse backgrounds,

and of various ages and professions, gather to read and discuss classic

texts. The Liberal Arts program allows students to earn a Master’s

degree in four semesters, by studying great books in four of five the-

matic groupings: Philosophy and Theology, Politics and Society, Lit-

erature, Mathematics and Natural Science, and History. The Eastern

Classics program is offered at the Santa Fe campus for those students

who want to extend the St. John’s style of inquiry to the masterworks

of India, China, and Japan, while earning a Master’s degree in three

consecutive semesters.

Enrollment is kept small to make possible a genuine intellectual

community. On each of St. John’s two campuses – in Annapolis,

Maryland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico – there are approximately 450

undergraduates and 65-90 graduate students enrolled in a given

semester.

Although students may go on to further graduate and profes-

sional study, the aim of St. John’s classes is not scholarly mastery,

but enhanced thoughtfulness. Through sustained engagement with

the works of great thinkers, and through the give and take of discus-

sion with peers, students cultivate habits of mind that will last a

lifetime: a deepened capacity for reflective thought, an ability to

transcend the limits of their own horizons, an appreciation of the

persisting questions of human existence, an abiding respect for the

value of serious conversation, and a lasting love of inquiry.

LITERATURE

S E M I N A R

Homer: Iliad, Odyssey Aeschylus: Agamemnon,

Choephoroe, EumenidesSophocles: Oedipus Rex,

Oedipus at Colonus,Antigone

Euripides: Hippolytus,Bacchae, Electra

Aristophanes: Frogs

T U T O R I A L

Chaucer: Canterbury Talesin Middle English*

Shakespeare: King LearAristotle: PoeticsSelected English lyric poetry

P R E C E P T O R I A L (examples)

Cervantes: Don QuixoteJoyce: UlyssesVirgil: AeneidEliot: MiddlemarchDostoevski: The Brothers

Karamazov

POLITICS AND SOCIETY

S E M I N A R

Plutarch: Lives: Lycurgusand Solon

Plato: RepublicAristotle: Politics*Machiavelli: The PrinceLocke: Second Treatise of

Civil Government Rousseau: On the Origin and

Foundations of Inequality Marx: The Economic and

Philosophic Manuscriptsof 1844*

Tocqueville: Democracy inAmerica*

T U T O R I A L

Aristotle: NicomacheanEthics*

Thomas Aquinas: Treatise onLaw*

Hobbes: Leviathan*Declaration of

Independence, Articles ofConfederation, U.S.Constitution

Hamilton, Madison, Jay: The Federalist*

Selected U.S. Supreme CourtDecisions


Montesquieu: The Spirit ofthe Laws

Shakespeare: The historyplays

Smith: The Wealth ofNations

Rousseau: EmileHegel: The Philosophy of

Right

MATHEMATICS AND

NATURAL SCIENCE

S E M I N A R

Plato: Timaeus* Lucretius: On the Nature of

Things Aristotle: Physics*Ptolemy: Almagest*Galileo: Dialogue on the Two

Chief World Systems*Darwin: The Origin of

Species*Freud: Selected works

T U T O R I A L

Euclid: Elements* Lobachevsky: The Theory of

Parallels*


Light: Aristotle, Descartes,Huygens, and Newton

Lavoisier: Elements ofChemistry

Maxwell: Theory of HeatBacon and the Principles of

Natural PhilosophyGalileo: Two New Sciences

{ T h e L i b e r a l A r t s P r o g r a m }

PHILOSOPHY AND

THEOLOGY

S E M I N A R

Genesis Exodus JobMatthew Romans Augustine: Confessions* Thomas Aquinas: Summa

Theologica* Kant: Groundwork of the

Metaphysics of Morals Kierkegaard: Philosophical

Fragments

T U T O R I A L

Plato: MenoAristotle: Metaphysics*Descartes: MeditationsHume: An Enquiry

Concerning HumanUnderstanding

Kant: Prolegomena to AnyFuture Metaphysics

Nietzsche: Beyond Good andEvil*


Aristotle: On the SoulHeidegger: Selected worksSpinoza: EthicsWittgenstein: Philosophical

InvestigationsNietzsche: Thus Spake

Zarathustra

HISTORY

S E M I N A R

Herodotus: Histories*Thucydides: Peloponnesian

War*Livy: Early History of Rome*Polybius: Histories*Plutarch: Lives*Tacitus: Annals*Tocqueville: The Old Regime

and the FrenchRevolution*

T U T O R I A L

Augustine: The City of God*Vico: The New Science*Kant: Idea of a Universal

HistoryHerder: Ideas Toward the

Philosophy of the Historyof Mankind*

Hegel: Philosophy ofHistory*

Marx: The German IdeologyNietzsche: Uses and Abuses

of History for LifeDilthey: Introduction to the

Human Sciences*Collingwood: The Idea of

History*Strauss: Political Philosophy

and History*


Tolstoy: War and PeaceMachiavelli: The Florentine

HistoriesWeber: The Protestant Ethic

and the Spirit ofCapitalism

Arendt: The Origins ofTotalitarianism

Readings may differ slightlybetween the two campuses.

*selections

DEFINITIONS

THE TUTORS

The teaching members ofthe faculty are called tutors,not professors, to indicatethat their role is not to lec-ture or profess in their fieldof expertise, but to guidestudents through the pro-gram of study.

SEMINAR

The seminar is the heart ofthe program. Two tutors andapproximately 18 studentsmeet around a large table todiscuss an assigned reading.A tutor begins by posing aquestion. The ensuing dis-cussion is shaped by theinterplay of differing perspec-tives, as participants seek todeepen their understandingof the texts and the issuesraised by the reading.

TUTORIAL

In the tutorial, led by onetutor, students focus onshorter assignments: eithershort literary texts, mathe-matical proofs, or densearguments of philosophy orpolitical theory. The empha-sis is on close reading of the text and cultivation ofanalytical skills.

PRECEPTORIAL

Every semester, studentschoose a preceptorial from alist of offerings, each usuallyfocusing on a single authoror topic. Led by a tutor, thesmall group conversationcan be especially intense andrich. Students completetheir study by writing amajor essay.

FALL SEMESTER

C H I N E S E T U T O R I A L

Pronunciation and grammarConfucius: Analects*Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching*

S A N S K R I T T U T O R I A L

Gonda, A ConciseElementary Grammar ofthe Sanskrit Language

Devanagari script

S E M I N A R

Lao Tzu: Tao Te ChingConfucius: Analects, The

Great Learning and TheDoctrine of the Mean

Mo Tzu: Basic Writings of MoTzu*

Chuang Tzu: Basic WritingsMencius: Works*Hsün Tzu: Writings of Hsün

Tzu*Han Fei Tzu: Writings of

Han Fei Tzu*Ssu-ma Ch’ien: Records of

the Grand Historian*I ChingRig VedaBrihad-Aranyaka

UpanishadKena UpanishadMundaka UpanishadKatha UpanishadIshvara Krishna: Sankhya

KarikaTattva-Kaumudi*Patanjali: Yoga SutraJayadeva: Gitagovinda


Mahabharata (required)I ChingConfucius: AnalectsChuang Tzu: Basic WritingsLao Tzu: Basic Writings

SPRING SEMESTER

C H I N E S E T U T O R I A L

T’ang PoetryMencius: Works*

S A N S K R I T T U T O R I A L

Bhagavad-Gita*Nagarjuna: Madhyamika-

shastra*

S E M I N A R

Kalidasa: Shakuntala,Kumarasambhava andMeghaduta

Jaimini: Mimamsa Sutra*Kumarila Bhatta:

ShlokavartikaKatha UpanishadInstitutes of ManuKautilya: Artha-ShastraKama Sutra*MahabharataBhagavad-GitaAbhinavagupta:

Dhvanyaloka*Jayarasi Bhatta:

Tattvopaplavasimha*Ashvaghosha: BuddhacaritaMajjhima Nikaya*Vimalakirti Sutra*Nagarjuna: Madhyamika-

shastraChandrakirti:

PrasannapadaLankavatara Sutra*Guadapada: The Great

Karika on the MandukyaUpanishad

Shankara: Commentary onthe Vedanta Sutras

T’ao Ch’ien: Record of thePeach BlossomFountainhead

Chinese Poetry*Diamond SutraHeart Sutra

Hui-Neng: Platform Sutra ofthe Sixth Patriarch

Chu Hsi: Chu Tzu ch’uan-shu, and Chu Tzu wen-chi


Rig VedaUpanishadsTs’ao Hsüeh-Ch’in: Story of

the StoneSsu-ma Ch’ien: Records of

the Grand HistorianNeo-Confucian TextsChinese Vernacular Prose of

the Ming Dynasty

SUMMER SEMESTER

S E M I N A R

The Tale of the HeikeLotus SutraSei Shonagon: The Pillow

Book*Kenko: Essays in IdlenessDogen: Shobogenzo*Basho: The Narrow Road to

the Deep NorthChushingura: The Treasury

of Loyal Retainers

P R E C E P T O R I A L

Murasaki Shikibu: The Taleof Genji (required)

*selections

{ T h e E a s t e r n C l a s s i c s P r o g r a m }

Visit our website at:www.stjohnscollege.edu

CAN I WORK WHILE I ATTEND

THE GRADUATE INSTITUTE?

The Liberal Arts programhas been designed to accom-modate working adults. Allclasses during the fall andspring semesters are sched-uled on two evenings perweek. Some students do findit difficult to balance therequirements of the programwith demanding full-timework, and prefer to makesome adjustment to theirwork schedule, either to part-time or to flex-time. Studentsin the Eastern Classics pro-gram have more class meet-ings per week, and full-timework is not recommended.

DO I NEED TO BE THINKING OF

FURTHER GRADUATE STUDY TO

ATTEND THE INSTITUTE?

Although some students whoattend the Graduate Insti-tute are considering furthergraduate or professionalstudy, and although the col-lege is pleased with therecognition that its graduateprograms have gained inuniversity circles, the pri-mary intention of the Insti-tute is not to prepare stu-dents for scholarly work. Ourstudents – recent collegegraduates, teachers, execu-tives, writers, professionals,retirees – come from diversewalks of life and are unitedby a common desire to deep-en their understanding ofthemselves and their worldby reading, pondering, anddiscussing classic texts,regardless of their subse-quent plans.

DO I NEED TO COMPLETE THE

PROGRAM IN CONSECUTIVE

SEMESTERS?

Students in the Liberal Artsprogram must complete fourof the five segments offered.They may do so by starting inany semester, and followinga number of patterns. Manystudents attend fall andspring semesters for twoyears. Others pursue the“fast track” of four consecu-tive semesters, e.g., summer,fall, spring, summer. Manyprimary and secondaryschool teachers attend onlyduring the summers, com-pleting the program overfour years.

In Eastern Classics, theprogram sequence is fixed,and students normally enrollfor three consecutive semes-ters: fall, spring, summer.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO STUDY A

FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN THE

GRADUATE INSTITUTE?

While the Liberal Arts pro-gram does not require thestudy of a foreign language,both campuses make it possi-ble for students to studyancient Greek while enrolled.In Annapolis, a Greek language preceptorial and a follow-up translation preceptorial are regularlyoffered. In Santa Fe, inter-ested students may partici-pate in the ongoing, non-credit Greek studygroup. The Eastern Classicsprogram requires the study of either Sanskrit or ClassicalChinese.

WHAT IF I AM NOT GOOD AT

MATH AND SCIENCE? CAN ISTILL GET THROUGH THE

LIBERAL ARTS PROGRAM?

At St. John’s College mathe-matics and natural scienceare regarded as liberal arts,which are capable of beingunderstood and questionedby any inquiring mind. Formore than 60 years we havebeen using classic texts tomake mathematics and science accessible to non-specialists. Many GraduateInstitute students who beginwith a fear of math find their tutorial in Euclid andLobachevsky to be one oftheir most rewarding experiences.

MAY I ATTEND BOTH THE LIB-ERAL ARTS PROGRAM AND THE

EASTERN CLASSICS PROGRAM?

Yes. Each year a few studentschoose to enter one programafter having completed theother. These students wish toexplore how questions theyhave grappled with in onetradition, for example,knowledge, justice, eternity,or wisdom, are dealt with inother traditions.

I WILL BE RETURNING TO

SCHOOL AFTER YEARS OF

DOING OTHER THINGS. WILL

IT BE DIFFICULT TO GET BACK

TO BEING A STUDENT AGAIN?

Although it may take time to reclaim the habits of studythey once had, many mid-career and non-traditionalstudents find that theirgreater maturity and experi-ence enhance the excitementand depth of their learningand that their anxieties aresoon forgotten.

{ F r e q u e n t l y A s k e d Q u e s t i o n s }

HISTORY: The college wasfounded in Annapolis in1696 as King William’sSchool and chartered in 1784as St. John’s College. TheNew Program was founded in1937 under the leadership ofScott Buchanan andStringfellow Barr. The SantaFe campus opened in 1964.

The Graduate Institutebegan in Santa Fe in 1967and in Annapolis ten yearslater. The Eastern Classicsprogram was first offered inSanta Fe in 1994.

St. John’s is a co-ed, fully-accredited liberal arts collegewith no religious affiliation.

DEGREES: Undergraduatesreceive a B.A. in liberal arts.Graduate students receiveeither the Master of Arts inLiberal Arts (M.A.L.A.) orthe Master of Arts in Eastern Classics (M.A.E.C.).

LOCATION: The 36-acre east-ern campus is located in theheart of historic Annapolis, ashort walk from the Chesa-peake Bay and a 30-minutedrive from Baltimore andWashington, D.C.

Nestled at 7,300 feetabove sea level in the Sangrede Cristo Mountains, the250-acre Santa Fe campusoffers spectacular scenery,wilderness access, and thecultural attractions of theSouthwest.

STUDENT BODY: Each campusserves about 450 undergrad-uates and 65-90 graduate students. Graduate studentsusually represent 20-25states and a number of for-eign countries. They come

from a wide variety of profes-sions and educational back-grounds. Ages range from 22to 75 with an average of 33.

SECOND CAMPUS OPTION:St. John’s is one college ontwo campuses. Studentsenrolled in the Liberal Artsprogram may transferbetween the two campuses atthe start of any semester.The Eastern Classics pro-gram is offered exclusivelyon the Santa Fe campus.

HOUSING: During the falland spring semesters, hous-ing is not ordinarily availableon campus for GraduateInstitute students. Assis-tance is available from thecollege in finding off-campushousing. During the summersemester, Graduate Institutestudents may live on campus.In Santa Fe they may alsoparticipate in the collegemeal plan. Meal plans arenot offered in Annapolis.

ADMISSIONS: Qualified indi-viduals with a Bachelor’sdegree are welcome to applyfor admission. Official tran-scripts of all undergraduateand graduate work, two letters of reference, andresponses to three essayquestions are required tocomplete an application.GRE scores are not required.Applicants are encouragedto complete their applica-tions in a timely manner.Applications are consideredand approved on a rollingbasis. There is no applicationfee. For further information,including recommendedapplication filing dates, sendthe attached reply card.

FINANCIAL AID: Institutionalgrants are available to students with demonstratedneed. Federal loan programs,subsidized and unsubsidized,are also administered throughthe college’s financial aidoffice.

EDUCATORS: Generousgrants are available to educators and teachers for allsemesters on both campuses.

For more information contact:

Graduate Admissions OfficeSt. John’s CollegeP.O. Box 2800Annapolis, MD 21404-2800Phone: 410-626-2541Fax: [email protected]

Graduate Admissions OfficeSt. John’s College1160 Camino Cruz BlancaSanta Fe, NM 87505-4599Phone: 505-984-6083Fax: [email protected]

Visit our website at:www.stjohnscollege.edu

St. John’s College admits qualified students of any race, religion, or national or ethnic origin, without regard tosex, age, disability, or sexual orientation. Academic facilitiesand most residence halls areaccessible to persons with physical disabilities.

{ S t . J o h n ’ s G r a d u a t e I n s t i t u t e F a c t s }

Graduate Institute Brochure

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Transcript of Graduate Institute Brochure