Thomas More College of Liberal Arts

Thomas More College of Liberal Arts

Seal of Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
Motto	Caritas congaudet veritati
Motto in English	"Charity rejoices in the truth"
Type	Private
Established	1978
Affiliation	Catholic
President	William Fahey
Location	Merrimack, New Hampshire, USA Coordinates: 42°48′30″N 71°29′00″W / 42.80833°N 71.48333°W / 42.80833; -71.48333
Website	thomasmorecollege.edu

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts is located in Merrimack, New Hampshire, United States. The college emphasizes classical education in the Roman Catholic intellectual tradition and is named after Saint Thomas More. The school has approximately 100 students. It is endorsed by The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College.

Thomas More College was founded in 1978, with political science professor Peter Sampo as its first president. Sampo had been a co-founder and president of both Cardinal Newman College in St. Louis and Magdalen College, also in New Hampshire. The curriculum, designed by educators Donald and Louise Cowan, associated with the University of Dallas, centered on the direct reading of foundational works of Western culture.

In 2009, the curriculum was revised under president William Fahey in an effort to improve its chronological approach to topics and strengthen the presentation of Catholic themes. Distinct majors in literature, political science, and philosophy were phased out in favor of a non-major liberal arts program.

In 2011, the college announced its intention to move to a larger tract of land in Groton, Massachusetts, keeping the campus in Merrimack as a site for future graduate programs. The relocation plan was abandoned in August 2015, after the college administration projected it would have required a ten-year fundraising campaign. In late 2013, the college bought a 1908 mansion in Nashua originally built by shoe manufacturer Frank Anderson and once used as the home of Mount Saint Mary High School, in order to use the historic house as an educational site and eventually also a dormitory.

The core curriculum at Thomas More College is similar to a Great Books program. Students read the great works of Western literature, philosophy, and political science in their entirety rather than as a collection of excerpts. Students earn a B.A. degree in Liberal Arts without a major concentration. Part of the sophomore year is spent in Rome, Italy. For admissions to the college, Thomas More College accepts the Classic Learning Test (CLT) as alternatives to the SAT and ACT.