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The school follows a unique curriculum, sometimes called the Great Books Program, based on discussion of works from the Western philosophic and literary canon. The Great Books program was developed at the University of Chicago by Stringfellow Barr in the mid-1930s as an alternate form of education to the then rapidly-changing undergraduate curriculm. The four-year, all-required program of study allows students to engage directly with some of the greatest minds in Western civilization, through reading and discussing original works of philosophy, mathematics, science, music, poetry, and fiction. There are no textbooks and all classes are based on discussion. Tutors, as professors are called at the College, guide the classes but do not lead them. Each student is challenged to judge for himself the various viewpoints he encounters, and urged to make his education his own.
The College is not affiliated with any religious organization. One undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, is granted to all students. Two Master's degree are currently available, one in Western classics which is a watered down version of the undergraduate curriculm, and an alternate course of studies in Eastern Classics. The Master's in Eastern Classicis is unique to St. John's Santa Fe, as no other accredited institution of higher learning in North America offers a similar degree. Both graduate degrees are awarded to graduate students through the college's Graduate Institute.
List of Great Books, Santa Fe