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Academics

A photo of the Science Center interior

Choate Rosemary Hall's balanced curriculum offers each student a firm grounding in the fundamentals of clear thinking and expression with emphasis on individual development. While fostering broad exposure in all disciplines, it also gives students opportunities to pursue special areas of interest.

We have six academic departments at Choate Rosemary Hall:

  • Art, with concentrations in the fine arts, music, theater, and dance
  • English
  • History, Philosophy, Religion and the Social Sciences (HPRSS)
  • Language, which offers five diploma languages—Chinese, French, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish—as well as study in German, Italian and Russian. (Note: The 2004-05 year is the last one in which Japanese 1 will be offered. Thereafter, Japanese will be gradually phased out as a diploma language.)
  • Mathematics and Computer Science
  • Science, with offerings in biology, environmental science, chemistry, and physics

The two major goals of our curriculum are:

  1. to sufficiently prepare our students to continue their education at the college level in all subjects while providing them with a basic framework in each discipline should they choose not to continue their studies in a particular field in college; and
  2. to allow students to pursue in depth an area of interest, whatever that might be.

The seeming tension between these two goals — breadth and depth — is monitored in each student's schedule with the help of the adviser, dean, and, when appropriate, college counselor, so that each student graduates from Choate with a program that makes sense for him or her, that fits each student well and that, ultimately, introduces each student in a comprehensive way to colleges. Thus, while grounding our students in the core of each major discipline, we allow those with special talents and/or well-developed interests to specialize in an area of strength or passion.

Aspects of our curriculum that facilitate breadth of study are:

  • comprehensive graduation requirements
  • extensive elective offerings in all disciplines
  • a comprehensive writing program
  • the Learning Resource Center
  • the most advanced placement course offerings of any of our peer schools

Aspects of our curriculum that facilitate depth of study are:

We expect students to avail themselves of the richness of our academic program; nonetheless they need to understand that they can't do everything, they must learn to make choices. As they make these choices, students are expected to enter fully into the educational process by making academic responsibilities their first commitment. Thus, as students plan their time at Choate, in consultation with their parents and the school officials named above, discussions must include considerations of balance and quality as well as adventure. We encourage students to pursue their passions in a manner that helps them to manage all of their commitments here in a successful, rewarding manner.

Thinking of Attending Choate?

Tell us more about your academic interests by filling out our Special Interest Form.