Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Higher Learning

Play trailer Poster for Higher Learning R Released Jan 11, 1995 2h 7m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
46% Tomatometer 41 Reviews 74% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
In John Singleton's powerful portrait of college life in the 1990s, a group of incoming freshmen at Columbus University -- including varsity athlete Malik Williams (Omar Epps), awkward outcast Remy (Michael Rapaport) and wide-eyed Kristen Connor (Kristy Swanson) -- struggle to find themselves and adjust to newfound independence. When Remy finds acceptance among a group of neo-Nazis, tensions rise even higher on a campus already divided along racial, socio-economic and gender lines.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Higher Learning

Higher Learning

What to Know

Critics Consensus

It's hard to fault Higher Learning's goals; unfortunately, writer-director John Singleton too often struggles to fit his themes within a consistently engaging story.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (41)
Emma Cochrane Empire Magazine Good intentions, but dull and predictable. Rated: 2/5 Apr 26, 2019 Full Review David Ansen Newsweek Higher Learning sells its soul (and its brain) for overwrought melodrama. Feb 16, 2018 Full Review Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Despite some likable performances (Epps is especially winning), the drama in Higher Learning is constricted, hemmed in by Singleton's compulsion to view his characters as walking paradigms of racial and sexual politics. Rated: C Jul 6, 2010 Full Review Andrea Beach Common Sense Media Director John Singleton turns his focus to prestigious universities, asking pointed questions about how these institutions perpetuate, or at least turn a blind eye to, important social issues. Rated: 4/5 Jul 27, 2023 Full Review Justin Brown Medium Popcorn I felt like it was lengthy, and they could have chopped down some of this stuff while trying to appeal to everyone...Malik and Remy could have been the movie right there. Rated: 2/5 Sep 19, 2019 Full Review Brandon Collins Medium Popcorn What is high...what is learning...yes it's a pretty decent cast, but it's all over the place, and I really wanted it to end. Rated: 1/5 Sep 19, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (771)
talieeya d Still holds up as an absolute classic to this day! Wow everyone so young and so talented. So amazing to see their maturation and talent at that time. I definitely enjoyed and loved the nostalgia. Higher Learning is a deep gem of a movie that still is relevant today. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/01/25 Full Review Stephen C Success in 2 hours and 7 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $36,800,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/02/25 Full Review Paul A sacrifice hood classic with some life lessons for sure for sure Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/16/24 Full Review Eddie O Laughable of a fairytale movie. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/24 Full Review Gareth v The bones of an important and interesting story are there, shame it's a rather mundane effort and doesn't have the lasting impact it desires to have. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/02/24 Full Review Dominique W We love to see Nazi punks get their asses kicked. More than makes up for the movies technical flaws. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Higher Learning

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Boyz N the Hood 96% 93% Boyz N the Hood Watchlist TRAILER for Boyz N the Hood I Like It Like That 89% 91% I Like It Like That Watchlist St. Elmo's Fire 45% 67% St. Elmo's Fire Watchlist TRAILER for St. Elmo's Fire The Indian Runner 76% 80% The Indian Runner Watchlist Mortal Thoughts 56% 36% Mortal Thoughts Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis In John Singleton's powerful portrait of college life in the 1990s, a group of incoming freshmen at Columbus University -- including varsity athlete Malik Williams (Omar Epps), awkward outcast Remy (Michael Rapaport) and wide-eyed Kristen Connor (Kristy Swanson) -- struggle to find themselves and adjust to newfound independence. When Remy finds acceptance among a group of neo-Nazis, tensions rise even higher on a campus already divided along racial, socio-economic and gender lines.
Director
John Singleton
Producer
Paul Hall, John Singleton
Screenwriter
John Singleton
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
New Deal Productions, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 11, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$36.8M
Runtime
2h 7m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
Most Popular at Home Now