The Hotchkiss School
Curriculum
With more than 200 courses in 16 departments, our academic program offers a breadth and depth most students will not experience until they reach college. The core curriculum covers English, the arts, foreign language, history, mathematics, and science. All departments offer electives, independent studies, and advanced courses at the AP level and beyond. Whether you want to write and direct your own theater production, carry out environmental research in the surrounding wetlands, or explore a new learning environment with one of our affiliated off-campus programs, Hotchkiss can help you pursue your talents and interests as far as you want to go.
Diploma Requirements
Courses and classes at Hotchkiss prepare students for college. Above all, however, our academic program is designed to help students make informed, imaginative, thoughtful decisions, and become enthusiastic learners throughout life.
A real Hotchkiss distinction: within a rigorous framework, we give each student the opportunity to pursue an academic program suited to individual needs. Students have the freedom, the opportunity, and the support to pursue their academic and artistic interests.
To graduate from Hotchkiss, students must both earn a minimum number of credits and satisfactorily complete specific course requirements. Yearlong courses receive one credit, while single-semester courses receive a half credit.
Note: this information is accurate as of November 2007. For possible changes in diploma requirements, please check our Web site for updates.
At Hotchkiss, ninth graders are called preps, tenth graders are called lower mids, eleventh graders are called upper mids, and twelfth graders, not so unusually, are called seniors.
Students entering in the prep class must earn a minimum of 17 credits at Hotchkiss. Diploma requirements:
- 4 years of English
- Math through the third level, including geometry, or the equivalent
- U.S. history or American studies
- 1 year of the arts (dance, theatre, music, photography, or studio art)
- 1 full year of a laboratory science
- A classic or modern foreign language offered at Hotchkiss through the third-year level (as determined by placement)
- The human development course
Students entering in the lower mid class must earn a minimum of 13 credits at Hotchkiss. Diploma requirements:
- 4 years of English, with one credit from their previous high school and three more from Hotchkiss
- Math through the third level, including geometry, or the equivalent
- U.S. history or American studies
- 1 year of the arts (dance, theatre, music, photography, or studio art)
- 1 full year of a laboratory science
- A classic or modern foreign language offered at Hotchkiss through the third-year level (as determined by placement)
- The human development course
Students entering in the upper mid class must earn a minimum of 9 credits at Hotchkiss. Diploma requirements:
- 4 years of English, with two credits from their previous high school and two more from Hotchkiss
- Math through the third level, including geometry, or the equivalent
- U.S. history or American studies. If you have already taken a year of U.S. history at your previous high school, you may apply to the history department for a waiver of this requirement. Should this waiver be granted, you would be required to take another year of history in place of U.S. history.
- Laboratory science: You must have received credit for one year of biology, chemistry, or physics at your previous school in order for the Hotchkiss requirement to be waived.
- A classic or modern foreign language offered at Hotchkiss through the third-year level (as determined by placement), or through the second-year level if you begin your course of study at Hotchkiss.
Students entering in the senior class (including postgraduates) must earn a minimum of 4 credits at Hotchkiss. Diploma requirements:
- 4 years of English, with three credits from their previous high school and one more from Hotchkiss
- Math through the third level, including geometry, or the equivalent
- Laboratory science: Students must have received credit for one year of biology, chemistry, or physics at their previous school in order for the Hotchkiss requirement to be waived.
- New seniors must take one year of a new language or continue a previously studied language at placement level for one year, or complete the third-year requirement by placement. Postgraduates are strongly encouraged, but not required, to enroll in a foreign language.
Classics Diploma
A student may qualify for this diploma with extensive work in Latin and Greek. Typically, students complete four levels of Latin and three of Greek, or five levels of Latin and two of Greek, or four levels of Latin and two of Greek, plus a classics independent study. Students qualifying for this diploma are released from their American History requirement.
Schedules and Grades
Most students enroll in five courses each semester. On occasion, some students take more than five courses with permission from the faculty. Courses meet four to six times each week, depending upon the academic discipline and level.
The academic year at Hotchkiss is divided into two semesters, each of which has two marking periods. At the end of each marking period, grades are given and sent home. At the conclusion of each semester, these grades are supplemented by written comments from teachers, dormitory faculty, and advisors. Only the final grade for each course is reported on student transcripts. The school uses letter grades, on a scale of A+ to F. Students with an A average place on the first honor roll. Students with an A- average place on the honor roll.
Academic Honors
For more information about academic honors, please click here
