Diploma Requirements
To qualify for a diploma, students must be currently enrolled in and in good standing at the School. They must satisfy the various departmental requirements regarding level of study and proficiency, and they must complete successfully the requirements listed below.
Course Load Requirements
Students must earn a certain number of credits, depending on their entry year. Nine of the total credits must be earned in the Upper Mid and Senior years, unless the student enters Hotchkiss in the Senior class. For each yearlong course passed a student receives one credit (or in the case of some yearlong music ensembles, one-half credit); for each semester course passed, a student receives one-half credit. Students receive three credits for passing the yearlong Humanities course. Seniors must pass all of their courses.
• A student entering in the Prep class must receive a minimum of 19 credits.
• A student entering in the Lower Mid class must receive a minimum of 14 credits.
• A student entering in the Upper Mid class must receive a minimum of 9 credits.
• A student entering in the Senior class must receive a minimum of 4 credits.
Course load requirements vary, depending on grade level. Preps and Lower Mids normally carry the following six-credit load: Humanities (three credits), a classical or modern language (one credit), math (one credit), and science (one credit). Preps and Lower Mids are also required to take Human Development, a once-a-week, not-for-credit course. Upper Mids and Seniors normally carry a five-credit load each semester.
Subject Requirements
Students must meet the diploma requirements in various subject areas, depending on their entry year:
Entering Preps
English: Prep Humanities, Lower Mid Humanities, Upper Mid English, Senior English
Mathematics & Computer Science: Mathematics through the third level, including geometry or the equivalent, by placement or completing a 300-level course.
Science: PY150Y and a second credit in a laboratory science; the PY150Y requirement may be satisfied by a high school credit earned prior to enrollment for the equivalent of one year of physics
Humanities & Social Sciences: Prep Humanities, Lower Mid Humanities
Classical & Modern Languages*: Through the third-year level of a four-year language offered at Hotchkiss by placement or study
Visual & Performing Arts: Prep Humanities, Lower Mid Humanities
Human Development: Prep and Lower Mid Human Development
Entering Lower Mids
English: Lower Mid Humanities, Upper Mid English, Senior English
Mathematics & Computer Science: Mathematics through the third level, including geometry or the equivalent, by placement or completing a 300-level course
Science: Two credits in a laboratory science, which may include high school credit earned prior to enrollment for the equivalent of one year of biology, chemistry, or physics
Humanities & Social Sciences: Lower Mid Humanities and one credit, which may include high school credit earned prior to enrollment for the equivalent of one year of history, philosophy, or social science.
Classical & Modern Languages*: Through the third-year level of a four-year language offered at Hotchkiss by placement or study
Visual & Performing Arts: Lower Mid Humanities
Human Development: Lower Mid Human Development
Entering Upper Mids
English: Upper Mid English, Senior English
Mathematics & Computer Science: Mathematics through the third level, including geometry or the equivalent, by placement or completing a 300-level course
Science: Two credits in a laboratory science, which may include one or two high school credits earned prior to enrollment for the equivalent of one or two years of biology, chemistry, or physics.
Humanities & Social Sciences: U.S. History** and one credit, which may include high school credit earned prior to enrollment for the equivalent of one year of history, philosophy, or social science.
Classical & Modern Languages*: Through the third-year level of a four-year language offered at Hotchkiss by placement or study, or through the second-year level of one language offered at Hotchkiss by study.
Entering Seniors and Postgraduates
English: Senior English. Postgraduates may petition the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing to have this requirement waived.
Mathematics & Computer Science: Mathematics through the third level, including geometry or the equivalent, by placement or completing a 300-level course. Postgraduates are not required to take math.
Humanities & Social Sciences: U.S. History.** Postgraduates are not required to take a Humanities and Social Science course.
Classical & Modern Languages*: Through the third-year level of a four-year language offered at Hotchkiss by placement, or by earning one credit. Postgraduates are not required to take a language.
Notes:
* The Classical & Modern Languages Department requires that the language requirement be completed in successive years, unless the Department has granted special permission.
** Entering students who have taken a year of U.S. History can apply to the Humanities & Social Sciences Department for a waiver of this requirement. If this waiver is granted, then in place of U.S. History the students are required to earn one credit in a course or courses offered by the Humanities and Social Sciences Department. In addition, the students must submit for review a copy of a research paper written for their previous U.S. History course. If they have not written a research paper, or if it is not to Hotchkiss standards, then they must write a research paper (see below).
Humanities & Social Sciences Research Paper Graduation Requirement
To graduate from Hotchkiss, students must complete a research paper that meets the requirements of the Humanities & Social Sciences department. Students who complete Lower Mid Humanities will satisfy this requirement in their History course during the second semester. Students who enter as Upper Mids or Seniors can complete this requirement in one of two ways.
A research paper from a previous school may be submitted to the Humanities & Social Sciences department heads for their approval. If a student has no such paper or her submission is not approved, she may elect to satisfy the requirement by
Completing a research paper that meets the guidelines for this requirement in an upper-level elective in the Humanities & Social Sciences department. Students entering as Upper-mids or Seniors should be in contact with the Head of the Humanities & Social Sciences Department as early as possible, to receive further details about submitting previous work for approval. If a student intends to complete the requirement while taking an elective course, she should meet with the Head of Department and the instructor of her elective at the beginning of the semester, to clarify all expectations and, if necessary, work with her instructor to modify or create an assignment that meets the requirement. On rare occasions, a student may be permitted to complete his paper independently; he should work with a faculty advisor and must receive permission from the department heads to complete the requirement in this manner.
General Guidelines for Satisfaction of the Requirement:
Papers should be of substantial length, generally ten or more pages.
Research (as indicated by the bibliography and footnotes) must include a significant number of primary sources and scholarly articles. A paper that cites only general secondary sources (websites, encyclopedias, textbooks, etc.) will not be satisfactory.
Papers must show evidence of the completion of a full and thorough research process (including note cards, outline, rough draft(s), etc.).
The Head of the Humanities & Social Sciences Department determines whether a paper from a previous school satisfies the requirement. Instructors, in consultation with the Head of the Humanities and Social Science Department, determines whether a paper written for a Hotchkiss elective satisfies the requirement.
Classics Diploma
A student may qualify for a classics diploma by completing four years of Latin and two of Greek.