Naperville, USA
DEGREE TYPE
BA
DURATION
4 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Request earliest start date
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
Scholarships
Explore scholarship opportunities to help fund your studies
Introduction
Through the bachelor of arts in natural sciences, you will examine both the historical development and the current practice of the sciences that explore all aspects of the universe.
Encounter the original sources that introduce and investigate the atomic theory of matter, the origins and evolution of life, the social lives of animals, the paradoxical nature of light, and the role of electricity and magnetism in shaping our world and experience. Explore the fascinating theories of relativity and quantum mechanics and the astounding development of molecular biology, and begin to understand and appreciate scientific thought, its methods, and its limitations.
At Shimer Great Books School, you will cultivate a spirit of discovery and a deep understanding of the natural sciences as a vital human endeavor.
About Shimer Great Books School
The Shimer Great Books School provides an education centered on the discussion of enduring questions and issues. Here, you will immerse yourself in reading, writing, and discussion alongside other voracious readers who use what they read to engage with the world and understand their roles in it.
Learning is a constant dialogue where every opinion and every position is questioned and analyzed. You’ll discuss your ideas in a class with people who will push you to think more deeply about fundamental questions than you ever have before. Simply put, the Shimer Great Books School challenges you to delve deeply into the diverse and endlessly fascinating areas of thought and creativity in the company of similarly inclined students and teachers.
Curriculum
The Shimer School Natural Sciences Major revolves around a series of questions about fundamental aspects of the natural world and methods devised to investigate them. Classic and major contemporary works of cosmology, biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as historical analyses of their development, form the core sequence in the Natural Sciences curriculum. Students come to know and understand these texts and the direct inquiries they guide partly through individual reflection, but also through collaborative experimentation, small-class discussions and intensive writing, peer-editing, and revision of essays and accounts of experiments. While each course focuses on a single theme of inquiry, the Natural Sciences sequence as a whole pushes students to grapple not only with the complexities within seemingly simple questions, but also to understand the larger social, cultural, and historical contexts in which natural scientific knowledge is developed.
Breadth and depth of knowledge and skills characterize graduates of the Shimer School. Through the core curriculum of the Shimer School, they immerse themselves in major classic and contemporary works of human expression, social thought, and scientific knowledge and practice. Their broad familiarity with fundamental ideas and methods across the Liberal Arts provides the foundation on which they build increasingly refined understanding and skills in more specialized courses in chosen disciplines taught across North Central College. Shimer School graduates thus find meaningful employment in an unusually broad array of fields, including teaching, social work, law, small business, entrepreneurial enterprise, and non-profit administration among the most common.
Major Requirements
Shimer School Natural Sciences Core Courses
- SGBN 101 - The Shape of the World
- SGBN 102 - What is Matter?
- SGBN 201 - What is Motion?
- SGBN 202 - What is Life?
- SGBH 101 - Art and Fiction
- SGBH 102 - Music and Verse
- SGBS 101 - Models of Social Thought
- SGBS 102 - The Western Political Tradition
- SGBI 101 - The Classical Foundations: Logic and Math
- SGBI 102 - The Modern Foundations of Logic and Math
- SGBI 451 - Integrative Studies: Ancient Early Modern World
- SGBI 452 - Integrative Studies: The Modern World
- SGBI 496 - Thesis
Natural Sciences Electives
Eight elective credits in Natural Sciences:
- Four credits that carry a prefix of SGBN at the 300-level or above
- Four credits from the SGBN prefix or another approved Natural Sciences course carrying a prefix outside the Shimer School.
Note:
*Consult with the Department Chair for a list of approved courses
Comprehensive Examinations
- Pass the Shimer Great Books Basic Studies Comprehensive Exam (following successful completion of at least six of the required courses at the 100-level).
- Pass the SGBN Natural Sciences Area Studies Comprehensive Exam following completion of SGBN 201 and SGBN 202.
Additional Requirements for the BA Degree
Students must demonstrate elementary competence in a foreign language.
Career Opportunities
The Shimer Great Books School at North Central College provides the tools, contexts, and habits of mind that make lifelong learning possible. At the same time, you will have immediate avenues to complement your studies with experiences that will prepare you for a host of professional opportunities designed to match your long-term interests, among them undergraduate research, co-curricular initiatives, and internships.
Internships
North Central’s internship program helps you apply what you’ve learned in the classroom in a workplace setting. Our location provides you with access to both a world-class city and a booming local high-tech corridor. From Fortune 500 companies to dynamic start-ups on the cutting edge, there’s bound to be a workplace well suited to your graduate school interests and career goals.
Careers
A Shimer School of Great Books education teaches students the critical thinking necessary to handle extraordinary intellectual challenges. Shimer graduates have had successful careers in a wide range of professions, including:
- Educators
- Attorneys
- Physicians
- Wall Street analysts
- Financial advisors
- Entrepreneurs
- Designers
- Engineers
- Artists
- Writers
- Marketers
Post-graduate
Shimer also ranks among the top colleges and universities in the percentage of graduates who earn PhDs.