Bowdoin College

The success of a Bowdoin education is evident in the capacity of graduates to be informed. Critically analytic readers of texts, evidence, and conclusions to be able to construct a logical argument to communicate in writing and speaking with clarity and self-confidence to understand the nature of artistic creation and the character of critical aesthetic judgment to have the capacity to use quantitative and graphical presentations of information critically and confidently and to access, evaluate, and make effective use of information resources in varied forms and media. These fundamental capacities serve as crucial supports for a commitment to active intellectual inquiry -- to taking independent and multi-faceted approaches to solving complex problems knowing how to ask essential and fruitful questions and to pursue answers critically and effectively sharing in the excitement of discovery and creativity and being passionately committed to a subject of study. Thus, graduates should have the ability to critically engage competing views, make moral judgments that inform their practice and work effectively with others as informed citizens committed to constructing a just and sustainable world.
Bowdoin College complies with applicable provisions of federal and state laws that prohibit discrimination in employment, admission, or access to its educational or extracurricular programs, activities, or facilities based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, marital status, place of birth, veteran status or against qualified individuals with disabilities based on disability.
The Bowdoin curriculum offers a realization of the Offer of the College for the twenty-first century. The College requires students to seek breadth and depth in their education: breadth through distribution and divisional requirements that encourage exploration and broaden students' capacities to view and interpret the world from a variety of perspectives and depth through the completion of a major in a department or interdisciplinary program, which challenges students to develop a deeper understanding and self-assurance as independent and creative contributors to an area of study. Students complete at least one full-credit course in each of five distribution areas and the first-year seminar in their first two years of study, declaring a major in the sophomore year. For graduation, students complete a minimum of thirty-two courses, leaving ample room for exploration in the curriculum.
Bowdoin College believes that exposure to an increasingly interconnected world is critical to a liberal arts education in the 21st century. It is part of the College's Offer, which asserts that our students will "be at home in all lands and ages" and "carry the keys of the world's library" with them. Students can reflect upon their citizenship and its broader meaning through profound cross-cultural dialogue and discovery, rooted in academic coursework on campus and abroad, research, internships, and service-learning.
At Bowdoin, study abroad is not merely traveling to a different country. It is an integrated component of a rigorous liberal arts education. Academic preparation for study abroad begins before students embark on their journeys -- with relevant coursework completed before participation--and continue to shape and contribute to their academic studies upon return and beyond through independent research, honors projects, and postgraduate professional and scholarship opportunities. Whether deepening their knowledge in a particular field of study from a new perspective, navigating an urban subway map in a different language, or learning how to interpret a communal meal's subtleties, studying abroad helps students expand their concepts of self and world. Bowdoin students find that their immersion in and adjustment to a culture distinct from their own serves as a springboard for academic curiosity and a foundation for the continued interest in international affairs, and can positively impact their commitment to serving the common good.
Bowdoin's academic program challenges students to stretch their understanding of today's most pressing issues, to try new experiences, and begin their lives as global citizens. The curriculum's interdisciplinary focus often connects disciplines and ideas in surprising ways and includes more than 70 designated International Perspectives courses. Bowdoin faculty members are internationally recognized, scholars and artists. They publish and contribute at the top of their fields, present at conferences, and collaborate with peers at leading research institutions worldwide. They actively include undergraduates in their work, include them in professional conferences, and mentor students' research, fieldwork, and internships.
Bowdoin alumni have had a significant impact on the international stage for over two centuries. They have been presidents, diplomats, merchants, seafarers, teachers, researchers, artists. Many Bowdoin students, past and present, are making a difference in the world through humanitarian and environmental projects -- while others choose to live and work overseas. Today, nearly 600 alumni live in 80 foreign countries and active Bowdoin Alumni Clubs around the globe.
A liberal education cultivates the mind and the imagination encourages seeking after truth, meaning, and beauty awakens an appreciation of traditions. Present challenges foster joy in learning and sharing that learning with others support taking the intellectual risks required to explore the unknown, test new ideas, enter into the constructive debate, and build the foundation for making moral judgments. It hones the capacity for critical and open intellectual inquiry – the interest in asking questions, challenging assumptions, seeking answers, and reaching conclusions supported by logic and evidence. A liberal education rests fundamentally on the free exchange of ideas – conversation and questioning – that thrives in classrooms, lecture halls, laboratories, studios, dining halls, playing fields, and dormitory rooms. Ultimately, a liberal education promotes independent thinking, individual action, and social responsibility.
Since its opening in 1802, Bowdoin has understood the obligation to direct liberal education toward the common good. In the 21st century, that obligation is stronger than ever. However, the challenge of defining a "common good" and acting on it is highlighted in an interconnected world of widely varied cultures, interests, resources, and power. To prepare students for this complexity, a liberal education must teach about differences across cultures and societies. At the same time, it should help students understand and respect the values and implications of a shared natural world and human heritage. By doing so, liberal education will challenge students to appreciate and contend with diversity and the conflicts inherent in differing experiences, perspectives, and values while finding ways to contribute to the joint project of living together in the world.