More than just “book smart”

Beloiters learn many things: how to find the area under a curve, when to use dominant chords in a composition, what ways people can learn new things, and how to identify rocks from color, texture, and even taste.  

Knowledge like this is important, but we believe knowledge alone isn’t enough. Our students develop skills to succeed in anything that they set out to do. They can’t miss these lessons either: we embed them into every course, internship, study abroad, and experience.

You will be an effective communicator. You will be a creative problem solver. You will become a productive collaborator. You will become intellectually and professionally agile.

We’re talking about practice.

Beloiters talk a lot about practice. But what does it mean to practice at Beloit?

For our students, it means studying hard, thinking about what comes next,  and then reflecting on and testing out what you’ve learned. It means: internships, field work, study abroad, case studies, capstone requirements, community-based learning, start-up business plans, residences, funding our summer opportunities, and lab-based courses in almost any field of study.

It means you study, work, absorb, connect. Think it through. Change what you’re doing. Choose a new approach. Then do it again. Because you get better with practice. 

Intellectual ≠ ivory tower

Lots of liberal arts schools have a reputation for secluding students in an ivory tower full of lofty ideas. We’re intellectuals here, too. But Beloit’s approach to the liberal arts connects your knowledge with relevant, future-focused action at every turn.

It starts with the Advanced Mentoring Program (AMP) in your first semester. Based on your interests, we’ll pair you with a faculty mentor to guide you through your first two years, design your course of study, and work with you to find community experiences that connect with your coursework.

You’ll take classes that will help you develop the agility to thrive in any career, even as the workplace continues to change. You’ll learn to write convincingly and support your point of view, consider different ways of understanding the world, and acquire in-depth knowledge in your major field.

By the time you’re a senior, you’ll have spent lots of time using the City of Beloit as a learning lab and reflecting on those experiences as you make your future plans.

The path to graduation

Beloiters have a fair amount of flexibility, including the option of a self-designed major. But we also have a few general guidelines to make the most of a Beloit education. By graduation, all students must complete:

• A “beyond the classroom” practical experience
• Three writing-intensive courses
• One quantitative reasoning course
• One intercultural literacy course
• One course in each of five areas of knowledge (we call them “domains”)
• The requirements of their major
• A capstone project, usually in their senior year
• A minimum of 31 credits, with an overall GPA of at least 2.0