Students take at least five courses during each semester and must complete 19 credits to be eligible for a diploma from The White Mountain School.

Minimum Subject Requirements for Graduation

At least 4.0 credits are required. Students must be enrolled in a credit of English (either one yearlong class or two semester electives) each year and must successfully complete four years of study in English.

Each student must successfully complete two Field Courses per year (one per semester).

At least 2.5 credits are required. Students must successfully complete courses in Modern World History (one year), U.S. History (one year), and a one-semester elective.

At least 0.5 credit is required. The School expects that student projects will fit within the broad categories of Leadership, Arts, Service, and/or Research (LASR). Most students will complete this requirement through enrollment in the Research Seminar class in their junior or senior year. Learn more about the LASR Program.

At least 3.0 credits are required. Students must successfully complete Algebra II (or the equivalent integrated sequence).

At least 0.5 credit is required. Students may choose from a range of rotating, cross-departmental, semester-long electives.

At least 3.0 credits are required. Students must successfully complete a laboratory course in Biology (one year), an upper-level quantitative laboratory course in Chemistry or Physics (one year), and two additional semesters of science coursework.

At least 0.5 credit is required. Students may choose from a range of year-long or semester-long offerings, some of which are cross-departmental.

At least 1.0 credit is required. Students must successfully complete two semester-long classes in any combination of the visual and performing arts.

At least 2.0 credits are required. For this requirement, students must successfully complete the first- and second-year courses of the same language. Bilingual students may be exempt from this requirement on a case-by-case basis, please email Mike Peller at mike.peller@whitemountain.org to discuss potential exemption eligibility. 

Graduating with Departmental Honors

Department chairs announce the students who received departmental honors when they announce the prize for their department at our annual Academic Awards Night toward the end of the spring semester.

  • Departmental GPA of 3.3 or higher at White Mountain, with no grade below a B-.
  • Completion of at least one additional semester of courses beyond the core departmental requirements (so, either two 0.5 credit courses or one 1.0 credit course), which could include a student’s LASR requirement.
  • Departmental GPA of 3.3 or higher at White Mountain, with no grade below a B-.
  • Must have completed more than the required credits in the department (AP Human Geography and/or Honors Courses).
  • Departmental GPA of 3.3 or higher at White Mountain, with no grade below a B-.
  • Successful completion of calculus.
  • Formal leadership on a Field Course.
  • Wilderness First Responder (WFR) Certification or other OED leadership.
  • Demonstrated leadership in afternoon outdoor athletics and co-curriculars.
  • Departmental GPA of 3.3 or higher at White Mountain, with no grade below a B-.
  • Must have completed at least two P+RS courses.
  • Must have attended one P+RS-related Field Course.
  • Completion of biology, chemistry, and physics, plus one additional elective.
  • Departmental GPA of 3.3 or higher at White Mountain, with no grade below a B-.
  • Departmental GPA of 3.3 or higher at White Mountain, with no grade below a B-.
  • Must have completed AP Environmental Science or Advanced Environmental Science or AP Human Geography, plus at least one semester of sustainability electives (either two 0.5 credit courses or one 1.0 credit course).
  • Must have attended at least one sustainability-related Field Course.
  • Lives and encourages department values in the community.
  • Departmental GPA of 3.3 or higher at White Mountain, with no grade below a B-.
  • Must have completed more than the required credits in the department.
  • Must have participated in some sort of public performance or show.
  • Departmental GPA of 3.3 or higher at White Mountain, with no grade below a B-.
  • Completion of a fourth year of language.