Hampshire's pedagogy offers students an environment in which they can develop academic skills at their own pace based on topics and projects chosen by themselves. This approach fosters independence and self-motivation - qualities prized by graduate schools.
Hampshire students are known for being liberal in their beliefs and actively supporting various social causes through demonstrations, organizing initiatives, and fundraising efforts.
The Student Body
Hampshire students hail from all backgrounds, though most tend to be liberal in outlook. Money plays no significant part in their lives as they strive for social change with education. Most attempt to ignore that they lack much of an endowment which means less than ideal facilities and tuition costs are an issue; those from wealthy families or receiving financial aid often fare quite well at Hampshire; it remains a very expensive school nonetheless.
Hampshire College stands out as an alternative college with no traditional majors and instead allows each student to choose their own academic concentration, typically covering multiple disciplines. Many compare it to graduate school because students create their own course of study while working closely with professors on an individual basis.
Hampshire students participate in a wide range of courses and learning activities outside the classrooms throughout their four years at Hampshire, such as independent research, internships, social action projects and lab work. Students also act as teaching assistants during their fourth year and earlier.
The student body at Hampshire is very diverse, including individuals from different social classes, races, and sexual orientations. Students generally get along well without any significant social problems on campus. Although students don't spend much time together outside their academics together, friendships do form among people with similar interests and extracurricular activities are available that allow students to find groups who share similar views about various issues.
Division I can be daunting for some students, particularly during their first year. Many feel as if the faculty doesn't offer enough guidance or freedom for pursuing academic interests - this has led many students to leave in frustration; prompting the college to review its long-term planning and examine ways it could improve. Already some positive changes have been implemented on campus but much remains to be done until students find what they are looking for in a college environment.
The Academics
Hampshire College offers life-altering academic programs for those willing to carve out their own paths. Attendance requires independence and self-motivation; but can be highly rewarding for the open-minded student. At Hampshire, students gain many useful life skills that they will take with them into adulthood: finding people to work with, leadership abilities and solving problems quickly and confidently being among.
Hampshire's academic system stands apart from traditional departmental structures in that its authority is decentralized to a faculty advisor committee, which are then charged with overseeing students' education through exploration and experimentation. This approach makes the relationship between student and advisor much more significant than in other schools where social connections may more commonly come through membership in departments or academic groupings of some kind.
At Hampshire, students are encouraged to help one another and work collaboratively on projects. Extreme competition is discouraged; evaluations primarily utilize narrative forms with special attention given to intellectual qualities and the growth of individuals. Furthermore, Hampshire provides various community activities like guest lectures, film series, and discussion groups.
Students enrolled in the fourth year have an opportunity to enhance their learning through a thesis-like project, whether that means designing a robot that teaches itself to climb, writing a book on chess history, or creating original artwork. Students may also study abroad, take internships, or conduct field research research.
Hampshire College has long championed education as a tool for social impact, encouraging its students to integrate multiple cultural perspectives into their work. They do not accept standard test scores as applicants - in 2014 they stopped accepting them entirely - in their admissions process, students are assessed on individual merit rather than gender - an approach unique among higher education institutions that has since been widely copied by other colleges.
The Environment
Hampshire College specializes in environmental studies, giving its students access to ecology, agriculture, and sustainable living classes. Boasting 800 acres of woodland, fields and wetlands as a natural laboratory for conducting environmental research, Hampshire also hosts Five College Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole which, allows students to gain hands-on ocean science experience through hands-on research projects or internships.
Hampshire's academic program is both rigorous and rewarding, requiring students to be highly motivated in order to succeed within its divisional structure, but faculty and staff members tend to support student endeavors with open arms. This unique approach to education gives Hampshire College an edge over traditional institutions.
Independent scholarship is an integral component of Hampshire's educational experience; however, some students find the demands of the curriculum too intense and leave before graduation. Hampshire strives to address these concerns through curriculum changes and increasing student support services.
Hampshire School used to accept SAT and ACT scores as part of an admission application, but research has demonstrated that such tests do not accurately predict success at college. Therefore, Hampshire no longer accepts them for admissions consideration.
Hampshire College boasts nearly net zero buildings, producing as much energy as they consume through solar panels and renewable wind and hydroelectric sources to supply all its electricity needs. Furthermore, Hampshire owns two large solar fields that contribute renewable energy back into Massachusetts' grid.
Hampshire College's numerous sustainability initiatives have received widespread acclaim in its community, yet Hampshire continues to search for ways to reduce its ecological footprint even further. An Environmental Committee consisting of elected and appointed faculty, staff and students gathers data relevant to reducing campus environmental impact while organizing awareness campaigns on specific environmental topics.
As part of its sustainability initiatives, the College offers numerous community events for both students and members of the public. For example, its Farm Center gives work-study and volunteer students an opportunity to engage with intellectual and political issues associated with farming and animal husbandry while producing organic vegetables and meat that are sold both through the dining hall, HampStore, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project sales channels.
The Community
Hampshire believes education can change the world for the better, so students actively engage in community engagement through internships and research assistantships, integrate cultural perspectives into their studies, perform public service on campus or local hospitals/schools as well as volunteering or activism efforts; learn in nontraditional environments such as art theater music writing gardening, etc.
Hampshire stands out with its distinctive approach to learning. Instead of following traditional divisional structures, students advance through Divisions by building portfolios that are reviewed at the end of every semester - these portfolios include narrative evaluations, final papers and projects, community engagement activities, reflective essays, and other meaningful works that are evaluated by both faculty and peers; more experienced students often act as teaching assistants early in their fourth year or before.
Hampshire emphasizes both independent scholarship and cooperative skills while realizing neither alone will guarantee future success in life. Therefore, they have done away with grades for coursework and Divisional examinations in favor of written evaluations by faculty and peer reviews by fellow students in order to provide more thorough, insightful, and meaningful assessments of student learning--and development.
Students begin their first year by creating a tailored curriculum to satisfy both the Distribution Requirement and their Hampshire Learning Goals - assumed as foundational standards of liberal arts education - which emphasize intellectual independence and an ability to articulate, address, and formulate substantive questions of substance. They meet regularly with their first-year advisor and complete either an independent study project or research seminar during this period.
Once a student has made significant academic progress, they may apply to move into Division II where they will have more freedom to explore their questions and interests; however, faculty still require them to present and carry out substantive academic work that can be presented and examined; those unable to do this will not advance to subsequent semesters.
Once a student enters Division III, they have complete freedom to explore their individual interests without fear of failure; this also means that product over process becomes the priority. Students who can independently identify questions they wish to explore further while devising sound plans for doing so and later critically reviewing their own work have proven the level of scholarly independence Hampshire looks for in its students.
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