The Williams Tutorial

Adapted from the Oxford University style of education, the Williams tutorial is a remarkable academic experience you won’t find at most other colleges: a class with just two students and one professor. Every week, the two students take turns developing independent work—an essay, a report on lab results, a piece of art—and critiquing it. With the support and guidance of their professor, they sharpen their thinking and refine their writing, develop ideas and defend positions. The tutorial gives them a sense of ownership of the academic process that inspires ever-greater exploration.With 60 to 70 tutorials offered each year across the curriculum, more than half of all Williams students take at least one during their time here — with most describing it as both their most challenging and most rewarding academic experience.