This unusual opportunity is found at only a handful of the nation's colleges and universities. These schools believe that is of the utmost importance to give students direct contact with the classic writers and thinkers. The series of courses combines readings from Homer though the twentieth-century with emphasis on developing skills in critical reading, writing, and thinking. Also, students may choose to take Great Books courses for credit and not fully enroll in the program. A student may take a Great Books course as early as fall semester of the freshman year or as late as the spring semester of the senior year.
Faculty come from a wide array of disciplines.
Harvard Law School, Emory Medical School, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Georgia Tech, and the University of Michigan. The Upper Division program is planned in conference between the chair of the major department and the student. Students do not have to formally choose a major until the end of the sophomore year. Each candidate for graduation must complete a group of courses known as a major or a concentration. The traditional major consists of a minimum of 24 semester hours, of which at least 12 hours must be upper division work.