A Great Books education prepares students to think critically and to drive their own learning. While you will likely need to study technical courses if you wish to enter technical fields, you will be well-prepared for success in those courses having had a Great Books education.

Ricketts Great Books College focuses on the great books of the Western tradition. This includes books from Ancient Greece, Rome and Jerusalem and from the Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions. We believe that these books represent the common patrimony of all people and that all people can benefit from studying these books.

Ricketts Great Books College has been designed with the belief that the best way to prepare yourself to think critically is by reading the great books written by the great thinkers throughout history. This is the way they’ve learned for the last 2,500 years and this remains the best way for anyone to develop a comprehensive foundation for thought.

Courses are taught using a combination of real-time video conferencing seminars coupled with social media and supported by multimedia films. The seminars use a method of shared inquiry in which the focus is not on a professor lecturing but on students and the professor having a lively discussion about the books. A significant emphasis is placed on close reading, critical thinking, and argumentation.

In the college, you will read many of the classics of science, including Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, and Einstein. You will see science written about by the people who discovered it and not by textbook authors. If you are going to be an original thinker, you need to study the work of those who thought originally.

Students who are curious, independent thinkers, self-motivated, who love history and ideas will thrive in this type of environment. Students who have attended classical academies or who have gone to schools where an emphasis is placed on the classics will also thrive.

We are a small college where everyone knows each other and where it is common for students to help each other succeed. Our faculty are actively engaged in student learning and are available at all hours to help students. Additional support facilities are available to help students as needed.

Alumni pursue all manner of careers. Lawyers, doctors, computer programmers, creative artists, teachers, and business executives are just some of the many careers open to our graduates. As you develop your mind and your ability to think clearly and write forcefully, you are limited only by your imagination.