Hi there,
This is an excellent question and I will borrow from @mollyatskidmore‘s recent blog post. Skidmore has a rigorous academic course load, yes. And you are required to take the following core curriculum courses:
1) Scribner Seminar. The Scribner Seminars are the centerpiece of the First-Year Experience, taught by faculty from virtually every discipline, who design seminars to highlight their own intellectual curiosities and passions. Scribner Seminars will help you begin to explore ideas, challenge assumptions, and gain first-hand experience of faculty expectations of academic rigor and excellence.
2) Quantitative Reasoning 1 and 2. QR1 can be passed by either getting a 630 on the SAT (or a 570 on the math SAT II, or a 28 on the math section of the ACT), or by taking the QR1 test at the beginning of freshman year. (You have to do it by the end of junior year, I believe). Then QR2 has to happen in a course that involves math, like physics, accounting or, calculus.
3) Expository Writing. This includes EN 103, 110, or 105.
4) Arts. Generally, this means dance, music, theater, creative writing, or studio art.
5) Humanities. The most vague of requirements. Lots of classes fulfill the humanities requirement.
6) Natural Sciences. You can take biology, chemistry, physics, oceanography, neurosciences, etc.
7) Social Sciences. This is American studies, sociology, anthropology, government, history, etc.
8) Foreign Language. Skidmore offers French, Arabic, Korean, Russian, Hebrew, Hindi and Portuguese too. Also, you can take Latin and Greek through the Classics department.
9) Non-Western/Cultural Diversity. This can be fulfilled in almost every department: classical Indian dance, non-Western religions, African-American literature, Latin American history, Caribbean politics.
Hope that helps!
Daniella
Online Community Manager
