Curriculum

Madame Emma Hart Willard founded her school on the basis of providing girls with a first-class education that challenged, inspired, and enabled them to serve and shape their worlds. This is still true of the rigorous curriculum 200 years later.

Our curriculum helps you focus your future aspirations, and equips you with the interdisciplinary knowledge competitive colleges are looking for. We offer over 140 courses, as well as opportunities for you to pursue an interest through our personalized study programs, Practicum and Signature. We are phasing out our current Advanced Placement courses with our own advanced learning curriculum. The Class of 2024 will be the first to fully benefit from this change. The new courses focus on what matters most in learning—relevance, enduring understanding, and multidisciplinary connection. This new program will support and challenge each student as she defines what success is for her.  For more detailed information, please read our recent announcement (pdf).

Courses at Emma range from .25 units to 1.5 units. Each Emma Girl’s journey is as unique as she is, allowing her to meet all graduation requirements while maintaining control over her choices.

Whether you’re interested in studying multivariable calculus, Shakespearean tragedy, theatre, or global climate change, Emma has a course to fit your interest. View a full listing of our courses.