An Education Unique As You
A New College education is all about you—your vision, your passions, your originality. As you work with your faculty adviser on your individual contract each semester, you’ll outline your academic and personal goals for the upcoming term. Along with traditional courses, you’ll explore new subjects through labs, tutorials and Independent Study Projects (ISPs). Every New College journey culminates in a senior capstone project or thesis, which serves as your grand finale — your project, your way — from a research paper or film to an art exhibit.
Areas of Concentration
Choose one of our 50 areas of concentration (majors) or design a multi-disciplinary or special area of concentration. Explore your interests and discover new ones as you choose from hundreds of courses, tutorials, labs, and seminars. With an average faculty-to-student ratio of 6:1, you’ll never take a class in a lecture hall with hundreds of students.
Academic Contracts
You’ll work with your faculty adviser to build an academic “contract” each semester instead of a one-size-fits-all traditional degree program, planning your courses and goals.
Narrative Evaluations
Your professors will give you in-depth evaluations on your coursework that tell your story, highlight your success, and show your promise.
Independent Study Period
In January, you’ll explore a topic you’re passionate about through an ISP (whether that is a lab experiment, internship, study abroad experience or other creative endeavor). Recent ISPs include:
- Fighting red tide (and looking towards a fungal solution)
- Developing a robotic prosthetic hand
- Using big data to solve economic and social problems
Senior Capstone Project
We call it a senior capstone project or thesis, but it’s really the culmination of your journey here at New College—whether it takes the form of a scientific research paper or a theatrical performance. With coaching from your faculty adviser, you’ll be ready to defend your work during the baccalaureate exam before you graduate. Sound like grad school? That’s because it is so impressive.
Recent examples include:
- Sarasota Bay: A Newly Defined Nursery Area for Blacktip Sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) on the Gulf Coast of Florida
- Footprints in the Atmosphere: A Quantitative Analysis of Community Carbon Emissions to Ignite Collective Climate Action
- Cultural Gentrification: Hip-Hop & Racial Epistemologies in the United States
Learn More
Explore Academics & Majors
Learn about our 50+ Areas of Concentration (what we call majors), the academic and career support services to help you thrive, and more about academics at New College.