Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts offers a liberal education for greatness. This may be a public greatness that human history will mark within its records or the quiet, hidden greatness that sustains families, societies, and the world, just beyond the vision of others. This greatness gives form to a life transformed, one in which students find true freedom, joy, and the wisdom that transcends our age.
Through its deep integration of liberal education and the Catholic faith within a joyful community, Magdalen College offers students the opportunity to pursue wisdom in a spirit of friendship, animated by a communion of faith, bringing the intellect and imagination to their full realization. Our community is unlike any other.
At Magdalen College we educate our students not only for the lives they will live immediately following graduation, but also for the lives they will live two decades later. When our graduates step into the leadership of public, private, and ecclesial institutions, or lead quietly in the private spheres of life, they will be taking up the reins that will shape and sustain society and the Church through the next generations.
It is for these high and heroic callings that we educate.
The Program of Studies
Magdalen College offers a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Liberal Studies with majors in Literature, Philosophy, History, and Theology. In addition to their major, students may choose to concentrate in the fine arts. The college also awards its Apostolic Catechetical Diploma to students who complete the six-semester sequence of theological studies with at least a grade of C or better in each course and who pledge to teach Catholic doctrine in communion with the Holy See.
All students complete a core set of courses in the classical liberal arts called the Program of Studies. The comprehensive, substantive nature of the curriculum was recently acknowledged by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. ACTA awarded Magdalen’s curriculum a perfect score for requiring courses in all selected subject areas across the broad sweep of arts and sciences. Magdalen was one of only seven colleges in the country to receive this distinction.
Our Program of Studies is grounded in four key commitments:
the belief that truth, goodness, and beauty are realities that can be discovered,
the primacy of enquiry embodied in the perennial questions,
the conversation engaged by the greatest books and culture artifacts,
the traditional liberal arts education as a pathway to true freedom and human flourishing.
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Aristotle recognized that “all men desire to know.” He discerned something universal in human nature that comes from the created image of God rendered at the deepest core of every human being.
This desire is not for facts or for information; it is, rather, a desire for wisdom—for an encounter with the real, permanent things. This includes the fruit of the intellect as well as the imagination and the products of human action and human making. It also includes a desire for things grasped only where reason and faith meet, like two wings working together to lift us ever higher.
Thus, our journey through the Program of Studies seeks to form the intellectus as well as the poetic imagination. To do this, we call students and teachers alike to a transformation that comes through a deep receptivity of the greatest works of culture. We also call them to discern meaning, order, and beauty in fields like geometry, music, astronomy, and biology, all ordered under theology, the Queen of the Sciences.
Such an education liberates students from dangerous tendencies that lead to being trapped—trapped by ignorance, untrained passions, ideologies, changing trends, and narrow career pathways. Instead, it frees them to think creatively and consistently, to discern the good, to love the right things in the right way, and to enter successfully into different callings and careers.
Our world today, including every single person, needs this form of liberal education now more than ever.
We invite you to explore our website to discover the extraordinary education we offer.
Program at a Glance
For a visual overview of how our courses fit together, view our program-at-a-glance.
Areas of Study
Explore the content that Magdalen students study in Philosophy and Humanities, Theology, Writing Workshop, Latin and Greek, Math and Science, and the Nature of Man Seminar.
Through our unique “Arts of the Beautiful” Program, students can integrate the practices of music, visual art—including iconography—and drama with sustained reflections on aesthetics, all while experiencing these arts in the museums and concert halls of New England.
As a complement to our generous core of great books, students choose a classic disciplines in the junior and senior year, reading books from within that discipline and developing a vision of reality shaped by it.
We combine the very best approaches to liberal education and reading the classic great books. Our students drink directly from the sources, engaging poets, philosophers, theologians, scientists, historians, playwrights, and artists in their own words and works.
The Comprehensive Assessment Program (CAP) highlights the learning outcomes that constitute our program of studies. It demonstrates how our students grow in wisdom, develop faculties inherent within human nature, flourish within a communion animated by virtue, generosity, & civility, live as disciples ordered to purpose, and lead through service.
At the beginning of the junior year, when a major discipline has been chosen, each student selects a single author as the subject of an extended exploration of reading and then, as a senior, selects a classic book and related question that become the basis of a senior thesis or portfolio.
In the college’s Honors Program, students and faculty explore—in a seminar setting—classic texts and themes chosen by a senior tutor of the college, while also completing an Honors Thesis during their senior year.
As part of its Formal Hall dinner series, the college invites scholars, poets, priests, philosophers, artists, musicians, and cultural leaders to join the conversation that animates our collegiate culture, events that combine lively dialogue and good food.
Our faculty joyfully devote themselves to the pursuit of wisdom through the classic books and the central disciplines, mentoring students who wish to join them in the exploration of the highest and most permanent things.
The St. Augustine library holdings include 25,000 print volumes, 60 periodical titles, and a variety of digital resources, all managed by a professional librarian with extensive academic experience.
Magdalen got a report card. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) examined 1,135 major colleges and universities in the country. Institutions earn a grade based on the degree to which they require students to take academic courses covering the broad sweep of the arts and sciences. Magdalen College was one of only seven...
The Orthodox tradition speaks of “writing” rather than “painting” icons. Several Magdalen students and graduates recently enjoyed a fascinating opportunity to “Write the Light” in Greece. The occasion was the Summer Iconography School taught by renowned master iconographer Dr. George Kordis. Mrs. Keri Weidersphan, who teaches iconography at Magdalen, helped organize and run the event....
“Magdalen is for those who have an inkling that the world is enchanted with beauty and meaning and want an education that will help them explore it at a deeper level.” So argue Prof. Anthony Esolen and Pres. Ryan Messmore in a recent interview with the Cardinal Newman Society. When asked about the special value...
Magdalen Professor Anthony Esolen argues that we need to tune our ears to what he calls “the music of language.” Such music enables poetry to do things that other forms of written communication cannot do. Listen to Dr. Esolen explain what has gone wrong with poetry in the modern age, and hear him discuss some...
Magdalen College recently wrapped up an engaging two weeks of our Collegiate Summer Program: Session II. Arriving on campus just days in the wake of Session I, an energetic group of high schoolers ascended our mountain campus to experience all aspects of Magdalen collegiate life. Between the two sessions, participants hailed from all over the...
National Catholic Register, a leading news source for faithful Catholics, recently interviewed Magdalen College’s new president, Dr. Ryan Messmore. Since Dr. Messmore began his tenure as the college’s fifth president in July, his zeal for Magdalen’s intentional, Christ-centered approach to liberal education has rippled through the community. The full interview explores his background, highlights what...
Session I
June 18 – July 1, 2023
Registration is now open.
Students will have the opportunity to take one of the following courses for college credit. Taught in Socratic-style seminar discussions, each course enables students to explore a particular interest and consider whether they might like to pursue that academic discipline as a potential college major. Students will spend 3.5-4 hours in class each day, have some assigned homework, and spend the remaining time in prayer, liturgy, sacred music, relaxation with new friends, and a wide range of extra-curricular activities.
Courses:
Physics: Understanding Boomerangs, Billiard Balls, and Balance Beam Routines (1 credit) – Mr. John Klucinec
This course explores the laws of motion as described by Galileo and Newton by reading and discussing these authors and through classroom experiments. Students will gain an understanding of physics in concrete phenomena through studying air flight, fluid dynamics, the aerodynamics of the boomerang, the motion of billiard balls, and the physics of gymnastics and diving.
Moral Philosophy: How Do We Make the Right Decisions? (1 credit) – Rev. Fr. Stephen Rocker
Natural law morality and utilitarianism are incompatible frameworks of moral reasoning, yet elements of both are mixed in the public mind. Catholic moral teaching and the Western system of law are grounded in natural law. This course will present these two moral frameworks and apply them to moral issues.
Poetry and Politics in the Western Tradition (1 credit) – Dr. Mary Mumbach
This course will examine poetic form and political form in the tradition of the West. Students will explore, in particular, how the Incarnation shapes the roles of imagination, prudence, and the heroic in literature and political philosophy. Readings in poetry, fiction, and American Founding documents will be considered.
Tuition:
$395.00 USD Tuition includes room and board. The purchase of a book may be required for some classes. Students should bring spending money for off-campus trips.
Session II
July 9 – 22, 2023
Registration is now open.
Students will have the opportunity to take one of the following courses for college credit. Taught in Socratic-style seminar discussions, each course enables students to explore a particular interest and consider whether they might like to pursue that academic discipline as a potential college major. Students will spend 3.5-4 hours in class each day, have some assigned homework, and spend the remaining time in prayer, liturgy, sacred music, relaxation with new friends, and a wide range of extra-curricular activities.
Courses:
Theology of the Body: The Deeper Meaning of Love, Sex, and Marriage (1 credit) – Dr. Ryan Messmore
When it comes to romantic relationships and marriage, today’s culture is awash in confusion. The Church calls people to see a deeper meaning to sexual desire and marriage. But what is that, and how can it be pursued in modern times? Saint Pope John Paul II has provided valuable teaching in this area. Along with his “Theology of the Body,” this course will explore the nature of love, the meaning of betrothal and marriage, and sexual ethics from a Christian perspective. Class discussions will be theological and philosophical as well as practical.
Philosophy & Humanities: Friendship in Western Culture (1 credit) – Dr. Brian FitzGerald and Dr. Erik Van Versendaal One of the most important features of human experience is friendship. Drawing on the great books of Western culture in literature, history, philosophy, and theology, from Aristotle and St. Augustine to Jane Austen and C.S. Lewis, this course will reflect on the nature of friendship across the centuries. Why do we need friends? What makes a good one? What are some obstacles to friendship? What happens as friends grow and mature in different ways?
Christ in Scripture (1 credit) – Deacon Karl Cooper
“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” In this course we will seek to meet and understand Christ as he presents himself in all the Scriptures. We will read, discuss, enjoy, and pray through the most crucial texts, and focus our work on the living and present Christ.
Tuition:
$395.00 USD Tuition includes room and board. The purchase of a book may be required for some classes. Students should bring spending money for off-campus trips.
Collegiate Summer Programs Registration
Omega Session: College-Level Intensives for Credit
July 10 – 23, 2022
This session is now full.
Students will have the opportunity to earn one college credit by taking one of the following courses offered at Magdalen College. Taught in Socratic-style seminar discussions, each course enables students to explore a particular interest and discover if it could lead to a college major or area of focus. Students will spend 3.5-4 hours in class each day, have some assigned homework, and spend the remaining time in prayer liturgy, and sacred music, relaxation with new friends, and a wide range of extra-curricular activities.
Courses:
Myth in Philosophy: Seeking Wisdom through Poetry and Story (1 credit) – Dr. Erik van Versendaal
What is the relationship between poetry and philosophy? Why does speaking about ultimate things lead philosophers into the realms of poem and story? This course considers philosophical works that are undertaken in a poetic mode alongside poems that express philosophic truth.
Physics: Understanding Boomerangs, Billiard Balls, and Balance Beam Routines (1 credit) – Mr. John Klucinec
This course explores the laws of motion as described by Galileo and Newton, by reading and discussing these authors and through classroom experiments. Students will gain an understanding of physics in concrete phenomena: through the aerodynamics of the boomerang, the motion of billiard balls, fluid dynamics, air flight and the physics of gymnastics and diving.
Theology of the Body: The Deeper Meaning of Love, Sex, and Marriage (1 credit) – Dr. Ryan Messmore
When it comes to romantic relationships and marriage, today’s culture is awash in confusion. The Church calls people to see a deeper meaning to sexual desire and marriage. But what is that, and how can it be pursued in modern times?
Tuition:
$325.00 USD
Alpha Session: Engage a Variety of Liberal Arts Fields
June 19 – July 2, 2022
This session is now full.
Students will experience the joy of learning in a variety of liberal arts fields, including courses in literature, philosophy, theology, and politics. Taught primarily in Socratic-style seminar discussions, these courses allow students to read classic texts and wrestle with big questions across a range of disciplines. Students will spend 3.5-4 hours in class each day, have some assigned homework, and spend the remaining time in prayer, liturgy, and sacred music, relaxation with new friends, and a wide range of extra-curricular activities.