Annapolis is best known for The Naval Academy and images of young men and women in their white uniforms walking around town. But, the locals all know how to spot a “St. Johnnie†too. These are students of St. John’s College and this college campus is as different from The Naval Academy as a straight line is to a circle.
St. John’s College is a direct descendant of King William’s School, which was founded in 1696. The college was chartered by the state of Maryland in 1784. In 1937, Stringfellow Barr and Scott Buchanan instituted The New Program, a curriculum based on the study and discussion of the great books. The college tends to draw intectually curious thinkers to its campus. St. John’s boasts that 80% of its graduates go on to graduate school or study law or medicine. 85% of the student body is from out of state and 17 foreign countries are represented by the student body. St. John’s college is one of the featured colleges on the website “Colleges That Change Lives†(www.ctcl.org.)
The 32-acre campus sits right in the middle of Annapolis’s historic district and is a short walk to downtown. And for students who want a complete change of scenery, St. John’s has a twin campus located in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Students who are in good standing can apply to transfer to the N.M. campus and plan on attending the upcoming academic year. The same is true for students who have started out at the Sante Fe campus and are eager to come to Annapolis.
There are about 450-475 students total at St, John’s and the students enjoy a small student-teacher ratio in their classes or “seminars†as they are called. Walk into any of the seminars on campus and you’ll see about 20 students being taught by 2 faculty members, who are referred to as “tutors†rather than professors. But studying The Great Books is not all that these students are required to do in their tenure at this college. The curriculum, which is an Integrated Arts and Science program, based on the seminal works of Western civilization, also includes 4 years of mathematics, 4 years of language, 3 years of science and 1 year of music. No grades are issued for students, but rather are recorded for graduate school purposes only. The emphasis is placed on class discussions and performance instead. And then there is the Don Raga, which is when students meet with their tutors at the end of each semester, to discuss their work. This is the culmination of a semester’s worth of work.
There are lots of extracurricular activities for students to get involved in, when they need a break from studying. These include: intramural sports, art classes, student government, the film society, drama groups, a literary magazine and opportunities for community service. There are also music practice rooms, an art gallery and a music library on campus.
Annapolis is lucky to count St. John’s college amongst its residents. Annapolis residents can take advantage of the college’s community outreach offerings at any time. St. John’s offers a plethora of educational opportunities for locals, including weekend seminars, one day seminars, Fine Arts workshops, Single Weekend seminars and Saturday seminars. Topics range from discussions on William Faulkner’s selected fiction, to Spinoza: A Theologico-Political Treatise, to Creative Writing classes to Beginning and Intermediate Pottery. To get more information on these classes, you check out the college’s website: www.stjohnscollege.com or call the college at: 410-263-2371.
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