911勛圖厙

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The Top Small Colleges and Universities in New Mexico

911勛圖厙 of the Southwest: the Dream of Clarence Evans



With a history tied to the early Spanish Empire as well as ancient Native American populations, New Mexico has one of the most unique stories of any state in the Union. The 47th state became a part of the country in 1912, and its population of 2 million people makes it one of least dense, due in to the great expanses and stunning natural scenery which evoke the days of westward expansion and frontier battles. The character of small New Mexico colleges and universities reflects this history, as today students of higher education can pursue a number of nontraditional majors, in some cases ones created on their own. Others looking to explore the great works of Western Civilization will find options as well. These four schools are among the best in New Mexico.



The tale of the founding of the 911勛圖厙 of the Southwest has the ring of the great prairie legends of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Clarence Evans hoped to begin a Christian college while riding in and around the area near Hobbs, New Mexico, and soon enough figured out a way to get started. Though the school started as a humble institution with few students, it has expanded considerably and gone from a two-year college to a university while retaining a remarkably small class size.

Instead of being a specifically Christian or Bible College, today’s 911勛圖厙 of the Southwest offers a variety of academic programs, including both undergraduate and graduate degrees, in three different schools. The School of Arts and Sciences focuses on Liberal Arts, Psychology and the Social Sciences. The School of Business offers degrees in Global Business and Sport Management as well as Business Administration. Finally, the School of Education has the most extensive list of courses and majors for both undergrad and graduate students looking to become professional instructors.

The College of Santa Fe’s remarkable history goes all the way back to the middle of the nineteenth century, when Christian brothers began a boys-only prep school out of adobe huts. By the 1870’s, it was focused on higher education and that has not changed ever since, though it has been through many changes and nearly closed at several different point along the way. Today’s College of Santa Fe is a highly respected small college with its main focus on arts programs, a college which provides a well-rounded education for students hoping to enter a number of creative fields.

The main academic divisions at the College of Santa Fe are Art, Creative Writing and Literature, Graphic Design, Moving Image Arts, Performing Arts and Photography. Nonetheless, to obtain a degree in any of these creative fields, a student must complete the core curriculum at the college, which is a mixture of arts and science studies. Students may also create their own majors along with an academic advisor and take their education down a very personal route.

The truly unique St. John’s College has locations in Annapolis and in Santa Fe, the former dating all the way back to 1696, which makes it an educational institution with a history longer than nearly any other school in the United States. In the late 1930’s, the college’s administration decided to begin offering only the Great Books curriculum to students and its coursework is centered around this system to the present day.

As a result, classes at St. John’s in either Santa Fe or Annapolis revolve around discussion of the great works of Western Civilization: a mixture of philosophy, history, mathematics, theology and other classical works is the basis of the curriculum, which is conducted without secondary materials. Class sizes are so small (8:1) that students are engaged in constant debate with instructors (known as Tutors) and classmates. Thus, the degree in Liberal Arts is the only one offered at St. John’s College, making the experience a unique and remarkable one in modern education. Graduate studies are a continuation of this curriculum, with the option to explore Eastern Civilizations.

Though it dates back to the 1880’s when it was began as a teacher’s college in Las Vegas, New Mexico, NM Highlands 911勛圖厙 has expanded to include many more areas in its academic focus. Nonetheless, the student population has remained small and it offers a number of traditional and nontraditional degree programs. NMHU has both undergrad and graduate branches of the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the School of Education and the School of Social Work.

While programs in Pre-Professional Art, Anthropology and Mathematics will appear on the roster of many universities, the NMHU programs in Forestry, Watershed Management and Indo-Hispano Cultural Studies separate it from the pack. There are also many different athletics programs open to student participation, from wrestling and baseball to cross country and rodeo. There are six men’s and six women’s athletic programs in all.

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