Hillsdale College

About Hillsdale

• College Profile
• History and Mission
  Hillsdale College was founded as Michigan Central College in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in 1844. Nine years later it moved to Hillsdale and assumed its current name. As stated in its Articles of Incorporation, the College undertakes its work "grateful to God for the inestimable blessings resulting from the prevalence of civil and religious liberty and intelligent piety in the land, and believing that the diffusion of sound learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings."
  
  Though established by Freewill Baptists, Hillsdale has been officially non-denominational since its inception. It was the first American college to prohibit in its charter any discrimination based on race, religion or sex, and became an early force for the abolition of slavery. It was also only the second college in the nation to grant four-year liberal arts degrees to women.
• Honor Code
  In keeping with the original and abiding mission of Hillsdale College, each entering freshman signs the following document, committing himself or herself to participate fully and honorably in that mission.

Admission Requirements

• ACT (writing section optional) or SAT
  
  SAT Critical Reading: 640-710
  SAT Math: 580-660
  ACT Composite: 24-30
• SAT Subject tests in History: American, World and Literature reccommended
• Total reccommended units: 16
  English: 4
  Mathematics: 4
  Science: 3
  Lab Science: 1
  Foreign language: 2
  Social Studies: 1
  History: 2

Core Curriculum

• The Humanities
  English - (in the Freshman Year)
  101 Freshman Rhetoric and the Great Books I
  The principles of rhetoric and their application; the literary content consists of a study of representative Great Books of the Western World. Selections include Homer, the Bible, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, Vergil and Dante. The writing content includes at least five major papers exercising traditional compositional and rhetorical skills.
  
  102 Freshman Rhetoric and the Great Books II
  A continuation of 101 but with a somewhat stronger emphasis on the literary tradition. Selections include Shakespeare, Cervantes, Machiavelli, Voltaire, Goethe, Flaubert, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Kafka and Sartre. The writing emphasis also continues with at least five additional major assignments.
  
  Three courses one from each of the following groups:
  Literature/Classical Studies, Fine Arts, Philosophy/Religion.
• The Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  Mathematics Competency Required
  ACT mathematics score of 24 or higher or SAT mathematics score of 570 or higher
  or
  MTH 105 (Finite Mathematics)
  This course is designed to give the student an introduction to finite mathematics and its applications. Topics are selected from linear functions and graphs, systems of linear equations and inequalities, linear programming, simplex method, mathematical models and elementary concepts of probability. May not be taken for credit by students who have completed Mathematics 213 or a higher mathematics course with a grade of "C-" or better. Fall and Spring, every year.
  
  or higher mathematics course
  
  Chemistry/Physics
  CHM 101 General Chemistry I
  Two four-hour courses in introductory inorganic chemistry. These courses cover fundamental laws and theories: the atom and the nature of the chemical bond, stoichiometry, phases of matter, solution chemistry, kinetics, equilibria, electrochemistry, coordination complexes and an introduction to thermodynamics. Three lectures plus one three-hour laboratory per week. Prerequisites: two years of high school mathematics plus high school chemistry. CHM 101 is a preprequisite for 102.
  
  PHY 101 College Physics I
  An introduction to mechanics, waves and thermodynamics is taught in 101. Electricity, magnetism, light, optics and modern physics are taught in 102. Modern physics consists of relativity and quantum, atomic, nuclear and particle physics. The class has two hours of laboratory investigation and four hours of lecture per week. Recommended for the general student, those who have not taken high school physics and science students who do not take calculus. Corequisite: MTH 105-110 or equivalent mathematics competency. PHY 101 is a prerequisite for 102. (Physics and chemistry majors, see PHY 201-3 below.)
  
  Biology
  BIO 102 Biological Science
  This lecture and laboratory course is designed to introduce students to the natural biological world and to supplement the preceding SCI 101 course. Biology is the study of life, and this course will build upon the fundamental physical and chemical principles presented in the previous course and attempt to explain biological phenomena from a variety of perspectives. These perspectives include molecular, cellular, genetic, organismal, ecological and population biology. The course will attempt to relate present knowledge and current biological understanding to today's modern society, as well as explore some of the more relevant implications. Three lectures and one laboratory per week.
• The Social Sciences
  History Required in the freshman year:
  104 The Western Heritage to 1600
  The course will focus on the development of political cultures in Western Europe before 1600. It begins with a consideration of Mesopotamian and Hebrew civilizations and culminates in a survey of early modern Europe. The purpose of the course is to acquaint students with the historical roots of the Western heritage and, in particular, to explore the ways in which modern man is indebted to Greco-Roman culture and the Judeo-Christian tradition. Required course for all students in the College, and except in extraordinary circumstances, must be taken in the fall semester of the freshman year.
  
  105 The American Heritage
  This course, a continuation of HST 104, will emphasize the history of "the American experiment of liberty under law." It covers from the colonial heritage and the founding of the republic to the increasing involvement of the United States in a world of ideologies and war. Such themes as the constitutional tensions between liberty and order, opportunity in an enterprising society, changing ideas about the individual and equality, and the development of the ideal of global democracy will be examined. Attention will also be given to themes of continuity and comparison with the modern Western world, especially the direct Western influences (classical, Christian and English) on the American founding, the extent to which the regime was and is "revolutionary," and the common Western experience of modernization. Required course for all students in the College, and except in extraordinary circumstances, must be taken in the spring semester of the freshman year. Prerequisite: HST 104.
  
  Political Science Required of all students. Strongly recommended to be completed by the end of the sophomore year.
  101 The U.S. Constitution: An Introductory Course
  The purpose of this course is to offer a careful and detailed examination of the Constitution of the United States. In this course, students will become familiar with the Constitution, the fundamental document of "the American experiment of self-government under law." Students will develop an understanding of the theoretical foundations of liberal democracy, the constitutional framework of American politics, and will be better able to appreciate "the inestimable blessings of civil and religious liberty." The course will examine primary source documents and speeches of the leading statesmen of the American Founding, with a special focus on the ratification debate. In addition, the course will focus on two great challenges to the Constitution. The first is the challenge posed by the attempt of the southern states to secede from the Union and the Civil War that followed. The second is the contemporary challenge to the Constitution posed by the theory and practice of the Progressive Movement.
  
  Students choose one course from the following:
  Economics, Psychology, or Sociology.

Major Spotlight: Political Science

• POL 101 The U.S. Constitution
  POL 202 American Political Thought
  POL 210 Regimes: Classical and Modern
  POL 211 Classical Political Philosophy
  POL 212 Modern Political Philosophy I: Social Contract Theory
  OR
  POL 214 Modern Political Philosophy II: Idealism, Historicism and Nihilism
  POL 220 Introduction to American Foreign Policy
  
  *Political Science 101 is prerequisite for all other political science courses.
• Of the 15 additional hours required, at least six must be taken at the 400 level. Students take required courses and select their elective courses from three sub-fields in Political Science: American Politics, Political Philosophy, and World Politics. Students may choose electives in any combination from the three sub-fields or students may concentrate in one sub-field. Students who participate in the Washington-Hillsdale Internship Program may count three hours of WHIP credit toward the political science major or minor.

Related Fields

• American Studies
• Christian Studies
• European Studies
• History
• International Business
• Political Economy
• Pre-Law

Student Life

Life at Hillsdale

• Athletics

Seminars & Programs

• Center for Constructive Alternatives
• Center for Teacher Excellence
• National Leadership Seminars
• High-School Study Abroad

Supporting Hillsdale

• Get Involved
• Ways to Give