Academics
A storied men’s college with the oldest private charter in the South, HampdenSydney College broadly states its intentions on the front gate: “Come here as youths so that you may leave as men.” The academic offerings may be streamlined—there are just twenty-five majors and a twenty minors available to the 1,100 men who come here—but the college’s required Rhetoric Program provides Olympic-level training in writing and speech, and the interdisciplinary Core Cultures program ensures students learn about the past from both a Western and a global cultures perspective. “My school is an academic powerhouse while at the same time having a guys’ weekend all the time,” sums up a student concisely. There is “an incredible alumni network” and the school’s Honor Code allows the campus “to be a safe and secure place where we can learn and become better men and citizens.” The “dynamic yet traditional” curriculum encourages students to challenge themselves “and to look deeper [rather than] just reading a text,” and the college “excels in imparting [to] its students the ability to think critically.” “There is no stupid argument; however, this is a properly supported and uninformed argument.”
Hampden-Sydney College professors are “nothing short of excellent”; they are “eager to teach and they keep the class engaged.” Classes are small, and professors “know all their students fairly well”; many live near or on campus and so “are easily accessible,” and all “want to teach you all you can learn.” Teachers “care deeply about each of their students,” and recognize when someone is not present and “offer help repeatedly when they see that one is falling behind.” If a student “is willing to accept a challenging road, he will be rewarded.” Many professors operate their classes through the means of discussion or the Socratic method, and thanks to the faculty and staff, students “are provided with every opportunity to succeed and reach our potential.” Hampden-Sydney College “really is unlike any other school out there and any student here will back that up.”
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