Application and Selection
The Great Conversation is not an honors program but a team taught, interdisciplinary program introducing students to the liberal arts. This program consists of a sequence of five courses, spread over the first two years of study, providing an integrated means to meet many of the general education requirements of the College. Taught primarily through discussion of great works of the Western tradition, the Great Conversation provides a broad foundtion for the rest of your St. Olaf education.
After being accepted to St. Olaf you will receive a brochure and application for the Great Conversation. The application for admission to the Great Conversation will be sent out to students in the Spring. If the idea of the Great Conversation appeals to you, carefully write the required short essay. It is the primary means by which students are chosen for the program. We do not expect you to compose an elaborate, intellectual autobiography. Instead, write a clear, straightforward statement of your experience with this type of learning, if any, and your reasons for desiring to pursue general education in this way.
We have adopted a rolling admissions procedure for the program. This means that we accept, waitlist, or deny applications as they are received and until the class is filled. Thus, it is in your interest to apply earlier rather than later. We hope to inform those who apply to the Great Conversation program within a month of their application.
All students selected to participate in the program live together in Ellingson Residence Hall, though not necessarily on the same floor or in the same room as others in the program.
