The College of Letters (COL) offers an interdisciplinary major program for the study of literature, history, and philosophy. The core of the program is a series of colloquia designed to acquaint students with works of predominately European literature, history, and philosophy in (respectively) the 20th century, the Ancient World, the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the early modern period, and the 19th century. In addition to these wide-ranging colloquia, students take more specialized seminars and independent work on tutorials. In all these contexts, much emphasis is put on the development of skills in writing and speaking, but our general goal is cultivation of the "educated imagination."

To enter the College of Letters, a student must have acquired the status of a sophomore and must have completed the requisite amount of work (see summary of requirements, below) in French, Hebrew, Italian, German, Russian, Spanish, Latin, or Greek. To perfect his or her knowledge of the modern language studied, the student is required to spend a semester abroad in a country where the language is spoken in the second semester of the sophomore year. Students normally attend the following study-abroad programs: for French (Wesleyan Program in Paris), German (Wesleyan Program in Regensburg), Italian (Wesleyan/Vassar/Wellesley Program in Bologna), Spanish (Wesleyan/Vassar Program in Madrid), or Hebrew (Wesleyan Program in Jerusalem). Students studying classics will also go abroad in the second semester of their sophomore year. Individual arrangements are made for students who are pursuing Russian.

The purpose of this semester abroad is not merely to enhance language proficiency but also to enhance the understanding of a foreign culture and to give the student a new perspective on his or her own culture.

During each of five semesters in residence in the College of Letters, COL majors participate in a colloquium organized around the study of a period in European culture. They also elect a minimum of four seminars, as well as two credits for independent study, to make up the equivalent of at least 11 course credits required to complete the major. The four-seminar minimum must include one seminar each in history and philosophy and two literary seminars, one of which must be taught in the foreign language in which the student is most proficient. Letter grades are not given in courses taken for COL major credit, and College of Letters seminars do not generally have final examinations. Tutors write detailed evaluations of their students work at the end of each semester, and these are kept on record (and discussed with each student upon request).

COL majors must complete three colloquia (sophomore and both junior colloquia) to be eligible to take the Junior Comprehensive Examination that is based largely on the material studied in the colloquia but that allows students to draw on other work they have done in the college to that point. The examination, which has written and oral components, is given in late April and early May by two examiners from other universities and is intended to encourage students to integrate the work they have done up until that time. Citations of high honors (in very exceptional cases, highest honors), honors, and creditable are awarded, but an ungraded option (pass/fail) is available. During the senior year each major is required to complete an honors thesis or essay under the guidance of a tutor. Theses may be essays on critical, historical, or philosophical subjects, as well as works of fiction or poetry or creative projects in the arts; and they may be presented for honors. A senior essay is a one-credit (rather than two-credit) project, and any student electing to present an essay rather than a thesis will need an additional seminar credit to complete the major requirements.

The academic standards of the College of Letters are reflected in the fact that its graduates have consistently entered the best graduate and professional schools, including schools of law, medicine, and business administration, as well as communications and the liberal arts. They also have won national fellowships and scholarships.

The College of Letters attempts to integrate the social and intellectual lives of its members by inviting guest lecturers and by providing opportunities for students and faculty to meet such guests (and one another) informally. There are also informal social gatherings in the College of Letters library on a regular basis. The structure of the College of Letters and the smallness of its classes bring about a close rapport between tutors and students and a lively and continuing dialogue among students of different classes.

• Five colloquia
• One literary seminar in the foreign language in which the student is most proficient
• Five additional credits from seminars and independent study, of which at least one must be a senior essay, or two for a senior thesis, and that must include at least one seminar each in history, philosophy, and literature

A College of Letters student spends the second semester of her or his sophomore year abroad, which requires intermediate-level work in the appropriate foreign language. It is expected that students entering the college as sophomores will be ready at the beginning of their sophomore year for the intermediate level of study (or its equivalent) in the language of their choice. That normally means FREN215, GRST211 or 214, HEBR202, ITAL111 (preferably ITAL221), SPAN112 (preferably SPAN221) or RUSS202. (In Greek or Latin, the corresponding level would be 202.) Students should therefore take the Wesleyan language placement test and enroll in appropriate language classes during their first year. First-year students interested in the College of Letters are also advised to elect courses from the First-Year Initiative in the humanities program, or in history, philosophy, or literature.