2012-2013 - Sweet Briar College

quad around a Student Commons, a village green that links residence halls with student services, dining
facilities, a bookshop and cafe, post office, and student organizations. In 2006, a new studio arts facility
was opened. These new facilities exemplify Sweet Briar’s commitment to an educational environment
that is integrated, intentional, and rooted.
Sweet Briar’s leadership in student engagement is reflected in a new mission statement, adopted in
2004, refocusing the College on its first principles, but recognizing that in the 21st century, students
who will become “useful members of society” must, as liberally educated women, be well equipped to
move into professional life. The College inaugurated its first graduate programs, a Master of Arts in
Teaching and a Master of Education, in 2004, and also that year, became only the second women’s
college in the nation to offer a program in engineering.
Institutional Accreditation
Sweet Briar College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on
Colleges to award the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts in
Teaching, and Master of Education. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane,
Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Sweet Briar
College.
It is a member of the College Entrance Examination Board and a contributing member of the American
School of Classical Studies at Athens.
Technology
The College is dedicated to preparing students to be active, responsible members of a world that is
rapidly changing through technology. Access to a well-equipped computer and computer literacy are
necessary for course work and research, as well as for using the Internet, the web and e-mail.
The role of technology at Sweet Briar is not only to teach specific software and systems, but also to
prepare students to function com- petently in a complex world of diverse technologies. Toward this
goal, the College inte- grates computers throughout the curriculum. Students become adept at learning
technology whenever it is needed.
Windows/Intel Pentium and Macintosh computers are available to students across the campus—in
large, ergonomically designed computer labs, the libraries, study rooms, aca- demic buildings, and
other locations. Students with their own computers have a direct connection to the Sweet Briar network
from their rooms in the residence halls.
Course Overviews
Anthropology
Anthropology, the study of humankind, investigates the entire range of the human experience across
cultures and over time. Its holistic approach encourages students to explore the relationships among
production systems, age and gender roles, family and kinship relations, relations of power and
inequality, and religious beliefs in societies throughout the world. Cultural anthropology examines