St. John's College is a private
liberal arts college known for its distinctive curriculum centered on reading and discussing the
Great Books of Western Civilization. It has two U.S. campuses: one in
Annapolis, Maryland, and one in
Santa Fe, New Mexico. The College traces its origins to
King William's School, a
preparatory school founded in 1696. It received a collegiate charter in 1784, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the United States. In 1937, it adopted a
Great Books curriculum known as the New Program, based on discussion of works from the
Western canon of philosophical, religious, historical, mathematical, scientific, and literary works; it is probably for this program that the school is best known.