On their way to a bachelor of arts degree, Williams students major in a core area of study (like Chinese or political science). Instead of academic minors, we have concentrations, which are groupings of courses around certain topics that pull from many departments and disciplines (like cognitive science, which has elements of psychology, computer science, philosophy, math, and more). Still other opportunities exist for students to pursue emerging fields, take special classes, develop their own majors, and take part in experiential education or off-campus study.
While there are no required courses at Williams, all students take at least three in arts and humanities, three in social sciences, and three in science and mathematics. All students also take at least two writing-intensive courses and one course to improve their ability to reason mathematically and abstractly. And while Williams has no formal language requirement, we do require that all students explore diversity by taking at least one course that examines how groups, cultures, and societies interact with, and challenge, one another.