An HWS Education
What makes an HWS education distinctive? It's the focus on learning.
It all starts with the First-Year Seminar, with choices spanning everything from sustainable living and contemporary issues in Africa to the nature of creativity and Einstein’s theory of relativity.
As a member of the intellectual community at HWS, students have access to talented, caring professors and work closely with their faculty advisers to design an academic plan that’s tailored to their own interests, strengths and goals.
With 45 majors and 68 minors, the flexibility of the curriculum along with opportunities for research, study abroad, service learning and internships, empower students with the clarity and confidence that translates into viable career and graduate school options.
Special Advising and Degree Programs
The First-Year Experience
The First-Year experience would not be complete without its quintessential Seminar. Without regard for future major or minor choices, seminars were constructed around different faculty interests - from peace movements to ancient warfare, Mozart and rock-and-roll. Each seminar is designed to hone writing, speaking, critical thinking and other academic skills that students will draw upon throughout their careers at HWS.
Summer Programs
Hobart and William Smith offer a Maymester program to students.
Maymester is open to all students, and allows students to take one course with an HWS faculty member for 3.5 hours, five days a week.
MAJORS AND MINORS
All majors (except those marked with an asterisk) may also be pursued as minors.
Majors
- Africana Studies
- American Studies
- Anthropology
- Anthropology and Sociology*
- Architectural Studies*
- Art: Art History
- Art: Studio Art
- Arts and Education
- Asian Studies
- Biochemistry*
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Classics
- Comparative Literature
- Computer Science
- Critical Social Studies
- Dance
- Economics
- Educational Studies*
- English
- Environmental Studies
- European Studies
- French and Francophone Studies
- Geoscience
- Greek
- History
- Individual Major*
- International Relations
- Latin
- Latin American Studies
- LGBT Studies
- Mathematics
- Media and Society
- Music
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Political Science
- Psychological Science
- Religious Studies
- Russian History and Society*
- Russian Language and Culture*
- Sociology
- Spanish and Hispanic Studies
- Theatre
- Women's Studies
- Writing and Rhetoric
Minors
- Aesthetics
- African Studies
- African American Studies
- Atmospheric Science
- Child Advocacy
- Civic Engagement and Social Justice
- Classical Studies
- Cognition, Logic and Language
- Concentration in French
- Development Studies
- Education
- Entrepreneurial Studies
- German Area Studies
- Health Professions
- Holocaust Studies
- Law and Society
- Men's Studies
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Peace Studies
- Public Policy Studies
- Russian Area Studies
- Russian Language
- The Sacred in Cross-Cultural Perspective
- Social Justice Studies
- Sustainable Community Development
- Urban Studies
- Writing Colleagues
