Bowdoin College - Academics

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

As a liberal arts college, Bowdoin offers its students many liberties by having flexible core requirements. Many students can easily complete these requirements within their first two years at Bowdoin, and it remains easy to take classes of interest in between to figure out where academic passions truly lie. Bowdoin also urges students to take classes outside of their comfort zones by offering the possibility of taking up to four classes as pass/fail over their four years. This offering is indicative of the fact that both the College and the professors want students to get as much out of their Bowdoin education as possible.

Receiving help and support from your professors 24/7 at Bowdoin is the norm. They want to see you succeed and will do their best to offer what constructive criticism they can. Professors maintain office hours, but with a heads-up, they will make time to meet with you. Professors are always trying to gain better access to their students, and some even invite their students to dinner or ice cream at their homes. Not only that, a few professors have been known to sign their students on as co-authors in their professional journal writings. Ultimately, the students at Bowdoin could not ask for better faculty. Bowdoin professors are often invited to speak at bigger universities about their research. Many say you will receive a graduate-level education as an undergraduate. Despite the hard work, recent grads that go on to graduate school say that, except for medical school, their studies seem easier than what they experienced at Bowdoin. Many alumni feel that the Bowdoin faculty inspired them to feel empowered to do anything they put their minds to.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

The professors spend ample time... The professors spend ample time with students in order to answer any questions posed. Classes are stimulating and provoke a great deal of thought. To help students do well, professors conduct night study sessions weekly. 12345 Report

Anonymous says:

The type of classes offered here... The type of classes offered here could be anywhere, but it’s the Bowdoin professors that make the difference. 12345 Report

Anonymous says:

Although challenging, the classes... Although challenging, the classes are worthy of attention. Professors try to make their classes approachable. 12345 Report

Anonymous says:

The professors I’ve had have... The professors I’ve had have been excellent. It’s really nice to be given the chance to get to know my professors intimately as an undergraduate. I’ve found it easy to meet with my professors, and most have set aside quite a bit of time to meet with students each week—outside of class. 12345 Report

Anonymous says:

Because Bowdoin is such a small... Because Bowdoin is such a small school, every so often I run into the problem of not getting into a class because of it’s cap size or because it’s only offered at a time that won’t fit into my schedule. It’s definitely a compromise between having small, intimate classes and having a lot of class options and variety in course selection. When you’re a junior, senior, or declared major, you can definitely get into any class you want, so this problem affects underclassmen much more than upperclassmen. 12345 Report

Facts

Did You Know?

14,000: Number of objects in the Bowdoin Museum of Art’s collections, ranging from the art of the ancient world to the art of today.7,405: Number of bottles of chemicals in
Druckenmiller Hall.917: Number of differently titled text books that the Textbook Annex ordered last spring semester.273: Number of different courses offered during the last
spring semester.212: Number of years men have studied at Bowdoin.100-plus: Number of approved study-abroad programs. The options are endless for Bowdoin students.81: Number of requests in 2001 for photographs of BowdoinCollegeArtMuseum objects—28 of these were related to Winslow Homer.35: Number of years women have studied at Bowdoin.   Bowdoin owns an island in the Bay of Fundy (New Brunswick, Canada). The field station was founded in 1935 as a research center and a sanctuary for nesting seabirds.   In 1926, John Brown Russwurm, founder and editor of America’s first black newspaper, was the first African American to graduate from Bowdoin and the third African American to graduate from any American college or university.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Nathaniel Hawthorne were classmates (Class of 1825).   Bowdoin was the first highly selective college to make the SAT optional, which it did in 1969. It is still optional today.   Bowdoin students and faculty have made frequent trips to the Arctic since 1860.   The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is home to the most famous portrait of Thomas Jefferson, painted by Gilbert Stuart.   From 1821 to 1920 Bowdoin was home to the MedicalSchool of Maine, which educated hundreds of U.S. doctors.   The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is one of the nation’s oldest college art museums. The collection dates back to 1811; the building goes back to 1894.

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