St. John's College, Annapolis, is the sister campus to St. John's College, Santa Fe. St. John's is one college on two campuses.
The school follows a unique curriculum, sometimes called the Great Books Program, based on discussion of works from the Western philosophic and literary canon. The four-year, all-required program of study allows students to engage directly with some of the greatest minds in Western civilization, through reading and discussing original works of philosophy, mathematics, science, music, poetry, and fiction. There are no textbooks and all classes are based on discussion. Tutors, as professors are called at the College, guide the classes but do not lead them. Each student is challenged to judge for himself the various viewpoints he encounters, and urged to make his education his own.
The College is not affiliated with any religious organization. One undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, is granted to all students. A Master's degree is awarded to graduate students through the college's Graduate Institute.
The Campus
St. John's is located in the Historic Annapolis district adjacent to the Naval Academy and a block away from the Maryland State Capitol building. The center of campus, McDowell Hall, was built in 1734. Its Great Hall has seen many College events, from balls feting Generals Lafayette and Washington, to frequent concerts, to the unique St. John's institutions called Waltz Parties.
History
St. John's College was founded in 1696 as King William's School, making it the third-oldest college in the United States. It was chartered as St. John's College, a private, non-denominational liberal arts school, in 1784. There was some association with the Freemasons early in the college's history, leading to speculation that it was named after Saint John the Evangelist, the patron saint of Freemasonry. The College's original charter, reflecting its composition by men of Masonic, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic faiths, stated that "youth of all religious denominations shall be freely and liberally admitted."
Francis Scott Key is one notable alumnus.
The College's curriculum has taken various forms in its history. Although it began with a general program of study in the liberal arts, St. John's was a military school for much of the 19th century. In contrast to Harvard University and The College of William and Mary, the two oldest post-secondary schools in America, the College always maintained a small size, generally enrolling fewer than 500 men at a time. In 1936, the College's Board of Visitors and Governors, faced with dire financial straits caused by the Great Depression, invited educational innovators Stringfellow Barr and Scott Buchanan to introduce essentially the current program of study. Buchanan became dean of the College, while Barr assumed its presidency.
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