LBC strives to provide a science education that is grounded in the liberal arts. To do so, we offer a typical natural sciences curriculum with the addition of History, Philosophy & Sociology of Science courses, which examine the impact of science and technology on society. The combination provides students an in-depth exploration of science and its interface with society, with the goal of developing capable, critically-thinking young scientists.

Lyman Briggs classes tend to be smaller than standard university courses and are designed to enhance the residential nature of the College. In our Biology courses, for example, labs operate on an "open" or unscheduled basis, which offers great flexibility and independence to our students. A large percentage of the biology labs are also "experimental," where students set up experiments and return to monitor the results at various stages.

The majority of the Lyman Briggs students take a two semester sequence in introductory college Chemistry and and two semesters of Physics. Many students also take the Briggs Mathematics courses concurrently, further advancing and understanding of the cross-disciplinary connections.

History, Philosophy & Sociology of Science Courses examine the impact of science and technology upon human values and beliefs. In LBC, we refer to the social sciences and humanities curriculum as "history, philosophy, and sociology" or "HPS." LBC students have the opportunity to take HPS classes in four overlapping substantive areas: science, technology, the environment, and medicine. In such classes, LBC students examine numerous empirical, conceptual, and theoretical issues related to these substantive areas, using historical, philosophical, and sociological perspectives and methods.