Questions or comments? Contact the dean of students office at deanofstudents@hampshire.edu.
Division I is designed for exploration and for learning new ways of working across a wide range of critical, scientific, and creative approaches through Hampshire’s transdisciplinary curriculum. Students learn and practice academic, interpersonal, and collaborative skills to engage in meaningful work with others, including community engaged learning (CEL-1)as well as demonstrate engagement with Race and Power. Students are supported to develop skills for engaging in project-based learning, deepening their ability to pose and pursue authentic questions through collaborative or mentored projects. Students are mentored by advisors who guide them through the selection of courses. They are also mentored through advising networks of students, staff, and faculty.
Because project-based work is an important component of Hampshire’s pedagogy, students take an active role in their learning. They deepen their ability to ask and answer authentic questions, sparking a love of learning and preparing them for a well-conceived individualized concentration of studies in Division II. Division I is the first two semesters of enrollment, during which time students' advisors will periodically review academic progress to identify developing areas of strength as well as indicators of the need for further study.
Note for first-year entrants with advanced standing: carefully read the advanced standing [1] description and contact CASA with questions.
Note for transfer entrants: the rules for completing Division I are significantly different than those for first year entrants. Students should refer to the Transfer Policy [2] for information and contact CASA with questions.
Community-Engaged Learning (CEL-1)
The Community Engaged Learning (CEL-1) requirement in Division I enables first-year students to participate in campus life in meaningful ways that foster the development of skills that allow for healthy communication and collaboration. It includes building an understanding of issues of race and power in order to prepare students to take part in active community-building. Not only are these skills important for becoming part of the Hampshire community, they also prepare students to pursue other out-of-classroom learning activities, which can affect their educational path and enrich their experience at Hampshire.
Community Engaged Learning (CEL-1) must total a minimum of 40 hours. Of these, 10 must focus on race and power and the other 30 can be a combination of community education and activities (e.g. clubs, Learning Collaborative projects and programs, OPRA courses, assisting on Div II and III projects, etc.). The student will document the fulfillment of CEL-1 and reflect on both community education and campus activities.
CEL-1 activities should help with any or all of the following goals:
Race and Power Requirement
Race and Power is one of five through lines of Hampshire College’s academic program. It reflects the College’s commitment to anti-racism and is incorporated throughout each divisional level. At each divisional level, there are multiple ways to satisfy the requirement, including coursework, project-based work, service and field study. To utilize independent, service and project-based work to satisfy the Race and Power Requirement, students must submit a proposal to the Race and Power Committee for review and approval. The Race and Power requirement provides students with tools for developing a sustained engagement with historical and contemporary conceptions of race and opportunities to deepen their understanding of processes of racialization in both local and global contexts.
Portfolio
At the end of the second semester of enrollment, first-year students are responsible for preparing a Division I portfolio that contains representative samples of work, a retrospective essay that reflects on their studies in Division I and their CEL-1. Students meet with their advisor to review and discuss their academic progress and Division I portfolio.
First-year students who present Advanced Placement program (AP) scores of 4 or 5 or International Baccalaureate (IB) scores of 5, 6, or 7 on Higher Level exams may use these exams in place of up to three electives in Division I, and use those elective courses toward Division II.
College course work recorded for credit on students' high school transcripts may not be used at Hampshire College. College courses not recorded for credit on the high school transcript may be considered for use in Division II with the approval of the committee chairperson. Courses must be full academic courses taken at a regionally accredited college or university, evidenced by a college transcript, and graded C or better.
To complete Division I, students must satisfactorily complete seven academic courses and the Community-Engaged Learning requirement. Of the seven, three may be Five College courses carrying three or more credits graded C or better; one may be a combination of two dance technique courses; and one may be a Special Project. Students also write a retro-spective essay to reflect on the trajectory of their learning experience in Division I.
Note that courses labeled Co-curricular on TheHub such as OPRA courses may not be used to fulfill Division I course requirements, although OPRA courses may be used to fulfill CEL-1 hours.
Students are required to enroll in a Division I seminar. Each of these seminars is linked with an urgent challenge as defined by one of our Learning Collaboratives and contains a substantial exploration of how processes of racialization inform specific disciplines, fields and methodologies. Exposure to curricular areas including the sciences, culture and human experience, the arts and design, and race and power are built into the transdisciplinary approaches of Division I seminars. Because of this, there are no additional course requirements in the first year other than completing at least six additional elective courses based on student interests.
In addition to the seven courses, students must complete the Community-Engaged Learning requirement (CEL-1). Community Engaged Learning (CEL-1) must total a minimum of 40 hours. Of these, 10 must focus on race and power and the other 30 can be a combination of community education and activities (e.g. clubs, Learning Collaborative projects and programs, OPRA courses, assisting on Div II and III projects, etc.). Students will document fulfillment of the CEL-1 and reflect on their CEL-1 experience in the Division I retrospective essay.
Note for first-year entrants with advanced standing: college courses and exams taken prior to matriculation may be used towards Division I requirements with certain limitations. Students who think they may be eligible, should carefully read the advanced standing policy [1]and contact CASA with questions.
Note for transfer entrants: the rules for completing Division I are significantly different than those for first year entrants. Students should refer to the Transfer Policy [2] for information and contact CASA with questions.
First-Year Entrants with Advanced Standing
Advanced Standing as described below may be awarded by The Center for Academic Support and Advising (CASA) to students who are in good academic standing. This policy applies to students who have completed fewer than 15 semester or 23 quarter credits of college work post high school graduation, and students who have completed college work during high school. The guidelines for academic progress [3] should be carefully reviewed to determine eligibility to use advanced standing. It is important to note that advanced standing may not be used to make up for academic deficiencies. Students’ academic records are reviewed at the end of the first year of enrollment to determine eligibility to apply advanced standing to Division I electives, and are reviewed again in Division II to determine the eligibility to apply advanced standing to Division II.
Students may use a total of eight advanced standing courses and exams combined towards their Hampshire degree with the following restrictions:
Courses must be full academic courses[1] taken at a regionally accredited college or university, evidenced by a college transcript, and graded C or better. Eligible exams include Advanced Placement (AP) exams with scores of 4 or 5 and International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher-Level exams with scores of 5 or higher. The courses described above may be used either for Division I electives, in Division II or a combination of both. The exams described above may only be used for up to three Division I electives in Division I.
Students must fulfill all Division I requirements in their first two semesters, including fulfillment of CEL-1/Race and Power requirements, to be eligible to apply outside college courses and/or AP/IB exams towards Division I requirements. They should consult with their advisor and contact the Division I dean in CASA for approval to use advanced standing in Division I at the end of their first year of enrollment after the evaluations and any Five College grades for all seven courses have been recorded. Final approval from the Division I Dean is required to make advanced standing available for selection in Division I forms on TheHub [4]. Hampshire and Five College courses that are not used to complete Division I requirements may be included in Division II with committee approval.
Students should discuss the possibility of using advanced standing courses with their committees early in Division II. The committee will determine if the courses are appropriate for the student to include. Final approval from a Division II Dean in CASA is required to make advanced standing available for selection in Division II contracts on TheHub [4].
Request for Timeline Adjustment
Students with advanced standing are encouraged to complete the full program of eight semesters along with their entering cohort to benefit fully from Hampshire’s rich academic program. However, students with a semester or more of advanced standing may, with CASA approval and the support of their Division II committee, request a timeline adjustment at the beginning of the anticipated final full semester of Division II. (For a student on an eight-semester timeline, the final semester of Division II is the 6th semester of enrollment.)
The request for a timeline adjustment will be considered if the student has maintained good academic standing in addition to fulfilling all Division I requirements in their first two semesters and are on track to fulfill the requirements of Division II early. The student should initiate a conversation with the committee, who must write a letter of support directed to the appropriate dean in CASA. If approved, the student’s timeline will be adjusted by one or, in some cases, two semesters.
[1] Full academic courses carry at least 3 semester credits at a community college; 4 semester credits at a four-year college or university; or 4.0 quarter credits for institutions operating on a quarter- system. Courses must be comparable in academic demands and disciplines to those offered at Hampshire and be graded C or better. Courses carrying less than the above-mentioned number of credits may be taken into consideration for advanced standing in combination with similar courses.