Express Yourself

What good is having a great idea if you can’t communicate it effectively? We’ll teach you how to express yourself through writing and speaking, of course, but also through digital communications and artistic expression — all of which will help you stand out no matter what path you choose after graduation.

Writing

Although Hamilton’s open curriculum has no “distribution requirements,” students must select three courses from across the curriculum designated as writing-intensive. That’s how important we believe it is for you to learn to write in a clear, organized, and effective way.

Writing Center

Speaking

Hamilton is one of only a handful of top liberal arts colleges with an independent Oral Communication Center. Here you’ll learn to express yourself with clarity and eloquence.

Oral Communication Center

Digital Fluency

From using digital media to communicate and collaborate to exploring the potential uses of data, analytics, and computer modeling, we’ll help you navigate the ethical and societal implications of living in an online world.

Digital Hamilton

Arts

The creation of art at Hamilton is not just for art majors. Here, you’ll have opportunities to integrate creative work and performance into courses throughout the curriculum.

Arts at Hamilton

Wellin Museum

Discover Hamilton

Three students discuss an exhibit at the 2023 Senior Art Show. — Students talk about the high-level spaces they are provided to create art at Hamilton College and how the open curriculum gives them the flexibility to incorporate a range of academic interests.

Lydia Hamessley and Jake Blount ’17 — Jake Blount ’17, a specialist in the early folk music of Black Americans and a skilled performer of spirituals, blues, and string band repertoire, returns to campus and talks with Prof. Lydia Hamessley, who first taught him the banjo.

Digital Arts Class Connects '80s-'90s Media to Social Activism

On the first floor of the Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts, Assistant Professor of Digital Arts Anna Huff teaches the class of her dreams.

A “Know Thyself” Journey to Harvard’s Graduate School of Design

Oftentimes students feel as though there is a dichotomy between the sciences and the arts and that they must choose one or the other. Enter Shelly Cao ’23, an art and mathematics double major pursuing a combination of both through architecture and showing the paths that emerge from pursuing interdisciplinary interests.

The Process of Teaching (and Learning) Writing

The quill atop the Chapel is no idle boast. From its beginnings, Hamilton has revered its commitment to writing, and our faculty across disciplines, continually seek ways to help students develop into accomplished communicators.

Band Club: Where Everyone Has a Voice

Applause rumbled as the Tolles Pavilion shook. My vision readjusted past the blazing bright lights as I scanned the crowd. Joyful eyes and smiles. Raised arms and cheers. I don’t remember breathing in those moments, but I remember what I felt. I was in a state of pure wonderment as I fixed the microphone back to the stand.