The Department of Art History provides curricular opportunities for the development of aesthetic judgment and historical understanding. The Grinnell College Museum of Art Collection of more than 7,000 original works of art and the changing exhibitions of the Grinnell College Museum of Art and the Print and Drawing Study Room supplement formal course study.

At Grinnell, Chinese is an interdisciplinary major that explores the complex interaction between literary, philosophical, aesthetic, religious, political, and other important spheres of human life in China. Emphasis is placed not only on the diversity and uniqueness of Chinese civilization but also on its contributions to humanity and its heuristic values to the understanding of Western cultural traditions.

Music is an essential part of human life. It has been used for millennia to bring people to tears, to laughter, and inspire a sense of solidarity. The Grinnell College Music Department can help you create, perform, understand, and critically examine the music that matters to you and explore communities around the world, past and present.

The Arabic program introduces students to the Arabic language and culture. All courses are taught in Arabic and provide intensive work in oral and written expression. The language curriculum can be complemented with courses on the Middle East and North Africa offered by departments such as history, religious studies, and anthropology and with off-campus study program options. Students have opportunities to participate in the weekly Arabic table; interact with the Arabic assistant; and meet many scholars, writers, and government officials from the Middle East.

Close, attentive reading. Critical and creative writing. Independent research. As an English major, you’ll develop your own questions and directions as you explore the traditions of American, African American, ethnic American, British, Irish, and global postcolonial literature. You’ll hone your skills in literary theory and interpretation. Whether your interests lead you to pursue scholarly or creative writing, you’ll find many opportunities to learn from the regular faculty as well as guest scholars and authors through programs like Writers@Grinnell.

Mathematics is ubiquitous. The ability to think deeply about mathematical ideas is integral to understanding the natural world and to solve problems across the spectrum of human experience. As a student member of the Grinnell mathematics community, you will be part of a dynamic group that includes faculty mentors who collaborate with colleagues around the world. An intensive curriculum in pure and applied mathematics will open doors to internships that demand critical thought across disciplines, as well as to deep research opportunities.

Violence, injustice, and intractable conflict are among the most pressing problems we face today. At Grinnell, you’ll join a community committed to addressing these issues and taking action to solve them. You’ll work with fellow students and faculty members to better understand the issues underlying conflict and to creatively manage and transform conflict. As part of your studies, you’ll explore the historical roots of social justice and interact with scholars and peacebuilders working in the field to build peaceful practices and institutions in societies across the globe.

Gender and sexuality are basic organizing structures of society. These categories are embedded in law, politics, and culture. Gender and sexuality shape the distribution of life opportunities locally and globally, and they permeate some of our most fundamental ways of experiencing and thinking about the world. Gender, women’s, and sexuality studies (GWSS) is an interdisciplinary field that investigates the complexities of gender and sexuality across various cultures, historical periods, and political contexts. The GWSS program at Grinnell offers students a broad foundation in feminist, critical race, and queer scholarship and activism.

To study philosophy is to ask the questions that thinking human beings everywhere have asked, in one way or another: Who am I? What can I know? What should I do? What can I hope? Though it does not fall upon any generation to answer these questions once and for all, a generation that refuses to confront them refuses to engage in the work of its time. Pluralistic and historically oriented, the philosophy program at Grinnell is dedicated to open inquiry into these big questions and their meaning for today.

As a biology major at Grinnell, the world is your laboratory. You’ll join other creative thinkers in an innovative program that encourages you to study multiple disciplines and think like a biologist from day one. You’ll conduct research, design and execute investigations, interpret data, and communicate your findings. As you explore a broad spectrum of sub-disciplines, you’ll enhance your ability to read and write scientific literature, think independently, work collaboratively, and prepare for advanced study or a career in medicine, research, education, environmental science, health, and many other fields.

As an American studies concentrator, you take a holistic, interdisciplinary look at American culture, both in the United States and globally, examining race/racism, gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, religion, and political culture in a historical, intellectual, and social context. In addition to required courses and a capstone paper or project, you can choose from an extensive course list in the humanities and social studies. Science courses related to American studies are also a welcome part of your program. American studies can equip you for graduate work and careers in law, library work, museology, research, teaching, politics, journalism, publishing, and more.

Biological chemistry studies the chemical basis of biological processes. As such, it is an interdisciplinary combination of biology and chemistry requiring a distinct subset of material from both fields. The core courses of the major introduce students to methods of inquiry into biological chemistry and consider the structure and function of nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, and how these molecules mediate chemical processes in the cell.

While the program does not offer a major, its courses serve the literary interests of all students and provide greater breadth for majors in foreign languages and in English. The General Literary Studies program reflects the assumption that, as an educated person, you will wish to extend your experience of literature beyond what has been written in your native tongue and beyond what you can read in the foreign languages you have mastered. You’ll enrich your education by exploring literature in translation and discovering a variety of illuminating relationships among works in different languages.

Whether you intend to teach, pursue work in policy, research, or administration, or simply want to be an active and vocal citizen, the education department will prepare you to think critically and creatively about the problems and potential solutions in the discipline. Through the inquiry-led curriculum, independent research, and Mentored Advanced Projects, you’ll develop flexibility in all your pursuits. If you’d like to earn your teaching license, you’ll major in the humanities, social sciences, or sciences, take the education courses for your secondary licensure (grades 5–12) or your K-12 licensure in ESL, and do a semester of student teaching.

Dynamic classes, laboratory research, and multiple means of interacting with faculty allow you to develop a personalized major that fits your learning style. As a chemistry major, you’ll gain hands-on experience with modern instrumentation as you couple creative thought with experimentation. All of this will prepare you for a career in chemical research, education, the medical or engineering professions, or to pursue graduate work in chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, environmental science, geology, materials science, or many other areas of study.