All students must complete minimum core requirements. In addition, they may choose elective courses. Students and their advisors plan as broad a program as possible, taking possible college requirements into consideration.

A diploma from Catlin Gabel indicates successful completion of four years of high school experience or its equivalent. For most students this means completion of a minimum of 18 academic courses, including the departmental requirements outlined below and electives. Departmental requirements may be waived upon petition. In addition, departments reserve the right to grant credit for work outside normal departmental requirements. Student are expected to take a minimum of four academic courses at any time.

Graduation Requirements

English: Four years, including Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior English and two senior electives.

Math: Successful completion of our two-year integrated Algebra II/Geometry curriculum.

History: Three years, including Early World History, Modern Europe and the World, and United States History.

Science: Three years. For the classes of 2009, 2010, and 2011, this includes Biology-Physics-Chemistry I, II, and III. For the classes of 2012 and beyond, this includes Science I, Science II, and a year of electives.

Language: Three years of the same language, or completion of Level IV of a language.

Arts: Two years of coursework in music, theater, and/or the visual arts.

In addition to the academic requirements, students must complete an annual community service requirement and the following credits in physical education and health:

PE and Health: Students are required to take nine trimesters of physical education and health courses over four years, including Health 9, Health 10 and Lifetime Fitness. Several PE classes are offered during and after school each trimester, and students may apply for independent PE credit or earn credit through participation on Catlin sports teams.

OSAA rules require students to be enrolled in and passing five academic courses to play interscholastic sports, both while they are participating and during the prior term.

Course Selection and Scheduling

Registering for Courses

Students may take as few as four or as many as six academic courses at any one time. In unusual circumstances, a student may petition the faculty to take more than six. Academic courses include English, history, math, science, modern language, computer science, and the arts. Re-enrolling students register for courses early in the spring term. After conferring with the advisor regarding recommended courses and graduation requirements, students take a preliminary schedule home for discussion with parents. Course offerings are sometimes based upon student needs brought to light by the registration process. Adjustments in teaching assignments are sometimes necessary, and the resulting information is compiled for the academic schedule by the registrar.

During the admission process, prospective students indicate their choice of modern language, and computer and arts classes. Those choices, along with transcript information, enable the departments and registrar to forecast an academic program for each newly enrolled student; the forecast is sent home for approval.

Conflicts between courses do sometimes arise, and students are encouraged to participate in resolving the problem.

Changing Courses

Students wishing to change their programs may arrange to do so when they sign up for the following year or within the first week of each new term. An "add/drop" slip is required to record each schedule change to:

Add or drop a scheduled class
Change from credit to audit or independent status
Drop any discipline

Students must participate in the class they are arranging to drop (attend the class and do required work) until they have obtained signatures from the teachers involved as well as from their advisor and the Upper School Head, and until the course teacher has been notified of the change by the registrar. If a student is dropping a discipline, the parent's signature is required to complete the drop procedure, as well as a college counselor's signature of approval in the case of juniors and seniors.

Independent Study

As an integral part of the Upper School educational experience, students may pursue independent study projects. These may be undertaken several times in a student's career and may be of short or long duration. Students may be excused from some or all scheduled classes, depending on the exigencies of the project. A participating student works closely with his or her advisor and the director of off-campus programs.

A student who has identified a potential project chooses a project advisor, and they confer to prepare a written proposal for the independent study. The proposal must include the subject goals, scope, length of time, and location of the project. The project advisor may be a faculty member or a qualified person outside the School. In the latter case, it is advisable to have a faculty coordinator as well. The project advisor and student then arrange for a meeting with the student's teachers, the C&C advisor, the Upper School Head, and parents to discuss the proposal.

For more information about graduation requirements or class scheduling, please contact: