Thirteen Goals of a Colgate Education Skip Navigation

Thirteen Goals of a Colgate Education

A Colgate education should enable students to accomplish each of the following thirteen goals.
  1. See themselves honestly and critically within a global and historical perspective: recognize that their beliefs, identities, interests, and values are in part a reflection of their background, education, and life experiences.

  2. Students work on cleaning samples from an archaeological dig in class
  3. Understand the methodology, modes of thought, content, and discourse of a particular scholarly discipline: articulate questions for research and craft a coherent argument so as to produce a substantial work in their chosen field.

  4. Conduct interdisciplinary inquiry: synthesize viewpoints from multiple disciplinary perspectives so as to overcome the limitations of any one perspective.

  5. Appreciate the myriad modes of human creative expression across time and place.

  6. Investigate human behavior, social relations, and institutions in order to understand the complex relationship between self and society.

  7. A student working with a sample while wearing goggles in a science lab.
  8. Examine natural phenomena using the methods of science, and understand the role of science in contemporary society.

  9. Acquire valuable habits of mind: listen and read well; think critically and creatively; ask challenging questions; gather relevant information and construct cogent arguments to answer them.

  10. Communicate well: speak and write correctly and precisely; speak and read a second language; present information effectively.

  11. Set an example of ethical behavior in public and in private: take a principled stand for what they believe and be accountable for their actions; uphold the legal and ethical uses of information.

  12. Be engaged citizens and strive for a just society: embrace their responsibilities to local, national, and global communities; use their influence for the benefit of others.

  13. A student shows a child from the community how to harvest crops from the community garden.
  14. Respect nature and the diversity of life on earth: recognize their individual and collective responsibilities for the stewardship of the earth’s resources and the natural environment.

  15. Grow in both confidence and humility: affirm a set of values while respecting and learning from the diverse perspectives, identities, ways of life, and philosophies of others.

  16. Continue learning beyond college: sustain a lifelong curiosity and grow in knowledge and wisdom.