The Academic Program

The college's commitment to the liberal arts is grounded in sound educational principles and the test of long experience. The broad knowledge gained through a liberal arts education gives students a realistic understanding of the world and prepares them for meaningful lives and effective citizenship. The world they will inherit is immensely complex and problems are seldom bounded by a single field of study. The liberal arts call for students to consider a full range of perspectives and methods of analysis; often discovering solutions at the interstices of the disciplines. At the core of the liberal arts is the relationship between student and teacher. The members of the Bates faculty are accomplished scholars and artists whose first priority is educating undergraduates.

Features of a Bates Education

• The Liberal Arts Tradition

• Academic Advising

• First-Year Seminar Program

• General Education

• Major Fields of Study

• Senior Thesis   

• Honors Program

• Minors

• Independent Study

Academic Policies

• Academic Calendar

• Student Enrollment

• Credits, Grades, and Dean’s List

• Degree Requirements

• Satisfactory Academic Progress

• Reinstatement after Withdrawal or Dismissal

• Academic Leave and Transfer Credit for Matriculated Students

• Confidentiality of Education Records

Academic Resources and Programs

• Global Education

• Learning Associates

• Student Research

• Community-Engaged Learning

• Bates Center for Purposeful Work

• The Peer Learning Commons

Places for Learning and Scholarship

• Information and Library Services

• Digital Media Studios

• Laboratories

• Resources for the Arts

• Bates College Museum of Art

• Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area and the Shortridge Coastal Center