This paper reviews the history of undergraduate curriculum in the United States from the colonial period to the present, arguing that the drive for utility has been the main force shaping curricular trends. It discusses the purpose of early colonial colleges and their curricula, which emphasized Latin, Greek, Hebrew, ancient history, theology, ethics, and the natural sciences. The paper then focuses on the declining influence of theology and the classics in the 19th century, which made way for moral philosophy, economics, sociology, modern languages, medicine, law, and political science. The paper also discusses the effects of the Yale Report of 1828 (a defense of the classical curriculum), the adoption of course examinations in the mid-19th century, the creation of technical colleges, innovations in pedagogy, the creation of colleges for women and African-Americans, the rise of land grant colleges and universities, elective courses, the creation of junior colleges, vocational education, general education requirements, the Serviceman's Readjustment Act after World War II, student activism of the 1960s, consumerism, and the rise of business and engineering curriculum in recent decades. (Contains 33 references.) (MDM)