32 Course Programs in Waterville USA

Colby’s Government Department is known as one of the best at any liberal arts college in the country. Work with professors who are active in real-world political affairs—as consultants to governmental institutions—and whose insights appear regularly in national and international media outlets. Take courses on political theory, comparative politics (of Europe, the Middle East, East Asia, Africa, and Latin America), international relations, and American politics. You’ll think critically and work hard, and you’ll be exposed to a variety of perspectives on political and public-policy issues.

The Department of Art offers an integrated curriculum of studio and art history courses that teach students how to engage in creative artistic practices and think critically about images in the world. All art courses assume that images are embedded in artistic, social, political, and cultural contexts. Our curriculum places a strong emphasis on experiential learning.

The Department of Art offers an integrated curriculum of studio and art history courses that teach students how to engage in creative artistic practices and think critically about images in the world. All art courses assume that images are embedded in artistic, social, political, and cultural contexts. Our curriculum places a strong emphasis on experiential learning.

Start by exploring computer science in the introductory course, Computational Thinking, learning to program while creating digital images. In the next two courses you will examine fundamental data structures and algorithms and learn how to visualize and analyze large data sets. Advanced courses allow for deeper exploration into the key areas of computer science—algorithms, computational biology, software and hardware design, robotics, graphics, computer games, and the limits of computation.

Students work closely with professors—internationally recognized theorists, composers, performers, and musicologists—to investigate music in global, historical, and theoretical contexts. Courses encourage creative and critical thinking and emphasize music as an art form as well as a rigorous discipline. Students are exposed to music from a wide variety of past and present world cultures and can select courses in music history and theory, musicianship, performance, conducting, composition, world music, jazz history, American popular music, and African drumming.

Students in the department develop a broad understanding of German or Russian cultures through courses that emphasize history, literature, politics, film, and language. Many choose to enhance their experience by studying abroad or through internships, while others work with faculty on collaborative research projects.

Students in the Sociology Department study social life in all its fascinating complexity. Majors and minors select from courses on a wide range on topics relevant to what’s happening in the world right now: inequality, religious conflict, political polarization, police reform, immigration, race relations, and more.

We offer courses that, in the true spirit of the liberal arts, emphasize underlying ideas, their social and ethical context, and their explanatory power. The statistics major emphasizes a strong background in the fundamentals, while also providing pathways to explore how statistics is applied in a variety of fields. Statistics is a core component of many fields from medicine to economics to data science.

Students in the program work closely with global studies professors as well as faculty members from other departments to examine transnational issues through several different comparative lenses. The major crosses four disciplines—government, history, economics, and anthropology—and includes extensive language study. With a diverse array of courses to choose from, global studies is highly flexible, allowing students to tailor the program to match their interests.

We offer courses that, in the true spirit of the liberal arts, emphasize beautiful underlying ideas, their social and historical context, and their amazing explanatory power. The mathematics major emphasizes the foundational structures of essential mathematical subjects. The flexibility of the mathematical sciences major, on the other hand, lets students focus their major on connections to other disciplines. Students in each major strengthen their problem-solving, abstract-reasoning, and communication abilities.

Students in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) Program, examine intersecting systems of social difference—gender, sexuality, race, nationality, class, caste, and ability. Throughout your studies, you’ll learn to think independently, analytically, and courageously about your own subjectivities and the world around you. Students tailor their academic program to their interests, selecting from courses in WGSS and from other disciplines, and they graduate experienced in a variety of feminist research methodologies.

Western traditions of history, philosophy, science, religion, art, and literature draw their origins from the intellectual curiosity and colorful imagination of Greeks and Romans. Students in the Classics Department take courses in language, ancient history, Greek and Roman literature, archaeology, philosophy, and political science to gain an understanding of the people and cultures of classical civilizations. Students can concentrate on an extended period of classical history or focus on shorter periods in greater detail.

Chemistry is an experimental discipline that uses applied principles and new skills to solve scientific problems. Through foundational courses and collaborative research with professors, students gain an understanding of chemical processes and acquire the tools to apply that knowledge in innovative ways. Faculty-mentored student projects emphasize modern techniques and instrumentation and use Colby’s research-grade facilities and laboratories. Recent research has included the synthesis of supramolecular structures, the detection of superoxide in natural water sources, and the molecular basis of cancer therapy.

Chemistry is an experimental discipline that uses applied principles and new skills to solve scientific problems. Through foundational courses and collaborative research with professors, students gain an understanding of chemical processes and acquire the tools to apply that knowledge in innovative ways. Faculty-mentored student projects emphasize modern techniques and instrumentation and use Colby’s research-grade facilities and laboratories. Recent research has included the synthesis of supramolecular structures, the detection of superoxide in natural water sources, and the molecular basis of cancer therapy.

Interested in how cultural diversity shapes human experience, past and present? Curious about what connects our lives with those of others around the globe? Colby’s anthropology professors are eager to explore these topics with you.