The College

The College’s curriculum and programs focus on the two hallmarks of the Curry education: a high respect for the individuality of every student and a developmental approach to learning that maximizes opportunities for achievement.

Curry College offers academic majors in liberal arts disciplines and in the professional fields. Alternatively, an individually-initiated major may be designed when a student’s academic and career ambitions are not best served by prescribed majors. The College awards the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts in Criminal Justice, Master of Education, Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Nursing, and Master of Science in Accounting degrees. The quality and character of the College’s curriculum and programs are regularly evaluated in light of the Curry College statement on educational goals.

Many academic and social programs enrich and facilitate the Curry education. Program for Advancement of Learning, the Field Experience Program, and the Division of Continuing and Graduate Studies are representative of that focus on special interests and diverse learning needs. Mindful of each student’s unique combination of abilities and potential, Student Life professionals promote a climate in which individuals and groups are empowered to become creative and socially responsible. Athletic programs similarly seek to develop student-athletes who regard scholastic and athletic achievement as congruent and complementary avenues to individual fulfillment.

Mission Statement

The Curry College mission is to educate and graduate students prepared to engage in successful careers and active citizenship with a global perspective. We are an inclusive community of diverse learners and educators, committed to continuing our legacy of developing effective communicators with reflective and critical thinking skills. We mentor and empower our students, building meaningful relationships that inspire them to achieve their ambitions.

Curry College provides rigorous and relevant academic programs to undergraduate and graduate students, and our rich blend of liberal arts and career-directed programs is enhanced by practical field experiences and co-curricular activities. Learning at Curry extends beyond the classroom and is embedded in all that we do.

Vision Statement

At Curry College, we dare to do what we dream. We are committed to preparing today’s students for the ever-changing challenges of tomorrow. Our success is defined by the success of our graduates in their personal and professional pursuits. We will strategically focus our endeavors and resources to promote a vibrant learning community that empowers students to achieve that success.

Diversity Statement

At Curry College, diversity is central to excellence in education, not a separate goal. We are an inclusive community where embracing differences is essential to creating a safe and welcoming environment for exploration and learning, as well as personal and professional growth. Being a member of the Curry community means that your unique voice is a vital and valued part of all we do.

Curry College admits students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to all students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of any of these categories in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship, or loan programs, and athletic or other college-administered programs.

To learn more, visit curry.edu/diversity.

History and Tradition

Since its founding in 1879, Curry College has always been a forward-looking institution that emphasizes individualized education and personal development. Curry College has a rich history whose roots lie in the intellectual traditions and personalities of 19th century New England. Now well into its second century, Curry has maintained a distinctive mission while creatively transforming itself over the years to meet new educational challenges.

The earliest form of Curry College was the Boston-based school of elocution established in 1879 by Anna Baright, a leading scholar in the field of oratory. She married Samuel S. Curry, a Boston minister, in 1882. Together they founded the College’s direct institutional precursor, the School of Expression, established in 1885 and incorporated in 1888. The Currys founded the school on the philosophy that individuals could reach their true potential by cultivating the art of expression, and coursework focused on such areas as drama, oratory, and speech. Many other prominent New Englanders were involved in the institution’s founding and early growth, including the famous inventor Alexander Graham Bell, a close friend of Samuel Curry, who served as the school’s chancellor from 1907-1922.

In 1938, the Massachusetts Legislature gave the institution the power to confer the degrees of Bachelor of Science of oratory and Master of Science of oratory. In 1943, the corporate name was changed to Curry College in honor of its founders. In 1952, Curry moved to its present location in Milton and became a traditional four-year liberal arts college with a strong emphasis on communication and self-development that continues today. The institution was authorized to grant the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in 1955. In 1974, Curry absorbed the Perry Normal School, which prepared teachers for careers in nursery schools, kindergartens, and primary grades. A master’s degree program in education was established in 1981, with a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice following in 1998, a Master of Business Administration in 2005, a Master of Science in Nursing in 2008 and a Master of Science in Accounting in 2019.

Academically, the college is internationally acclaimed for its Program for Advancement of Learning (PAL), established in 1970 as the nation’s first college-level program for students with language-based learning differences. Curry has also received great recognition for its communication program and award-winning radio station WMLN FM-91.5, established in 1975; its nursing program, which absorbed the Children’s Hospital nursing school in 1977; and the considerable expansion of its programs under the auspices of the College’s Division of Continuing Education in the 1990s.

Curry College Today

Today, Curry College is recognized as a leading college for individualized education by continuing to focus on the particular learning needs of each student, with an average class size of 20 students and a student/faculty ratio of 12:1.

The College is now a private, not-for-profit, independent institution offering 25 majors and 65-plus minors and concentrations leading to undergraduate degrees, and offering graduate degrees in accounting, education, criminal justice, business administration, and nursing. The College offers undergraduate students a pathway to master’s degrees through 5th year master’s programs and a wide array of extra-curricular activities, ranging from 16 NCAA division III athletic teams to an outstanding theatre program.

The student body has experienced significant enrollment growth and now consists of approximately 1,600 traditional undergraduate students, and nearly 500 continuing education and graduate students. Approximately 70 percent of traditional undergraduates reside on the Curry campus.

As at its founding, Curry remains a dynamic and forward-looking institution, committed to providing a highly individualized educational experience.

Location

The wooded, 131-acre Milton campus is one of the most attractive small college campuses in New England. But unlike other isolated suburban or rural campuses, Curry is just minutes from one of the most exciting cities in the world. Only seven miles from downtown Boston, Curry can offer its students exceptional cultural and educational advantages. Boston is known for its history and tradition as home of Quincy Market and the Tea Party Ship; its cultural and educational institutions like the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Science, the Boston Public Library, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and its legendary sports teams the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins, and the New England Patriots. The opportunity for internships and entertainment in this New England capital is a significant part of the Curry experience.

Curry’s location has yet another advantage: it is less than two miles from the scenic Blue Hills, a natural reservation which offers skiing, hiking, horseback riding, and a range of resources for environmental education and recreation. The Milton campus is a beautiful retreat in the woods, with the excitement of the city waiting right outside.

Curry also operates additional instructional locations in Plymouth, Massachusetts and at Massasoit Community College in Brockton, Massachusetts.

North Campus Facilities

The original Milton campus of the College, the North Campus, includes the John S. Hafer Academic Building, erected in 1965, that houses many of Curry’s classrooms. In 2001, a new state-of-the-art television studio, the Hirsh Communication Center, complete with full TV production facilities, was added to the facility. In 2020, new computer labs were constructed in the Hafer Academic Building. There are several residence halls on the north side of campus, including a 190-bed facility that opened in Spring 2001 and a 175-bed facility which opened in Fall 2005. A new Academic and Performance Center opened in September 2006 on the Academic Quadrangle featuring state-of-the-art classrooms, faculty office suites, break-out facilities, and a multi-purpose auditorium/theatre named in honor of Oscar and Frances Keith. Other facilities on the North Campus include the award-winning student radio station WMLN-FM; a Parents’ Lounge; a new Learning Commons featuring a state-of-the-art Science and Research Center, which opened in 2019; a gymnasium; an outdoor swimming pool; numerous basketball courts; and the Louis R. Levin Memorial Library, named in honor of a late Curry student, that includes an open access computer lab equipped with both Macintosh and PCs.

South Campus Facilities

Located on the South Campus, the W. George Kennedy Academic Building is a classroom facility named in honor of a long-time Curry Trustee and benefactor. The Kennedy Building was entirely renovated in 2000 with new classrooms and offices, along with teaching and open access computer labs equipped with both Macintosh and PCs. In 2020, further updated were made to the Kennedy Building including the construction of a ThinkTank Design Studio, Exercise Science lab, and renovations to art and music studios. The Gertrude M. Webb Learning Center on the South Campus houses many resources for Program for Advancement of Learning (PAL) students, including an Assistive Technology Center, an accommodations testing center, an Educational Diagnostic Center, an open-access computer lab equipped with Macintosh and PCs, an open-access Learning Lounge, interactive projection displays, classrooms, conference rooms, and offices for PAL instructors.

Also on the South Campus is the Alumni Recreation Center (ARC) that serves as multi-purpose facility for the campus community, and a dance studio. South Campus is home to additional residence halls, including a suites style residence hall that opened in 1999, and a new 171-bed apartment style residence hall that opened in Fall 2003.

Mid-Campus Facilities

Centrally located is the Student Center, an 84,000 square foot facility which opened in 2009. Designed to enhance educational experiences through expanded extracurricular and co-curricular programs and services, this new facility provides exceptional opportunities for recreation, social interaction, student activities and entertainment. Athletic facilities within the new student center include a gymnasium, athletic and general use locker rooms, and a fitness center offering cardio equipment, nautilus machines, free weights, and an aerobics studio. Additional features of the facility include: an expanded dining marketplace with a food court style servery; informal and late night food service areas; a sports café with pub style seating and flat screen TVs; a café with coffee house atmosphere; a student lounge with fireplace and living room atmosphere; a game room with billiards and other amusements; a quiet lounge for relaxed study; student services, Student Government Association and student club offices and meeting areas; a chapel for spiritual life programming and quiet prayer or reflection; a campus post office and copy and supply center with a full range of services; a bookstore with expanded space for texts and general merchandise; a tribute to the legacy of Joseph and Frieda Drapkin; and an amphitheatre style, multipurpose outdoor gathering space on Westhaver Park. The Diversity Center was opened on the second floor of the Student Center in 2021 and provides gathering and office spaces to provide affinity student groups with meeting spaces and resource rooms.

One of the College’s most recently constructed facilities and residences is Bell Hall, named after Alexander Graham Bell, the famed inventor of the telephone and Chancellor of the School of Expression, Curry College’s institutional precursor, from 1907 until his death in 1922. Bell Hall opened in 2014 and is located mid-campus in proximity of the Student Center and the Admission Office. Its 46,000 square feet is home to 168 residents. Students not only live in Bell Hall, but connect with their faculty and their peers in an integrated environment. Bell Hall boasts a large multipurpose space that serves as a classroom during the day and a programming and event space during the evenings and weekends. Multi-functional spaces within the hall can be utilized for traditional classroom learning, as study halls for both group and individual study, tutoring sessions, and other co- and extracurricular purposes as opportunities arise.