Hampshire College Top Questions

My professors know my name but they don't know me. They never call on students and simply rely on the consistent two people to comment on the readings and to answer their questions. Most students never study and a few students study all the time. It depends on what kind of person you are. Personally, I rarely do the lecture readings but then spend a huge amount of time on my research projects. Hampshire is whatever you want it to be. If you want it to be a joke it is, if you want it to be an academic challenge that forces you to grow as a person it's that too. The academic divisional system is a good idea but terrible in practise. A student's experience is hugely dependant on their advisor and I had a terrible advisor. I didn't know when I was supposed to pass division I and file division II and so I was a fifth semester division I student when I talked to a different professor who immediately took me in and straightened out my divisional system. You are supposed to be in division I for one year and division II for two. Thanks to my original advisor I was in division I for two and a half years and division II for only one semester. Hampshire's learning is geared towards whatever your mind is geared towards. If you are job oriented you will reasearch and study things you need to know to be successful in that field. If you are idea and fact oriented you will spend your time learning theory and concepts. Hampshire is what you want it to be and what you make it be. The rules at Hampshire are more like guidelines than rules. If there is a rule there is an acceptable way to break it.

Every professor will know your name. My classes have been invited to my professor's house for dinner twice. It is all a choice if you study or not. You can get by without studying in many classes, but most students don't do that. At a place where we can choose what we want to study, usually almost everyone in a class will want to do the reading anyway. Class participation is very common, almost too much at times. Hampshire students are always having intellectual conversations outside of class. Everything is worth a discussion and people are more than inclined to disagree with you and talk about it.

At Hampshire, let me tell you that yes, there are no grades. However, this can work with you, or against you. If your the type of person who needs motivation, and needs to see a letter grade to indicate just how you are doing, this isn't the place for you. Get ready for a million red marks on your paper, which, isn't a bad thing at all. The professors here just want you to progress as the semester goes by. Also, just because there are no grades, don't think that you can slack off. Professors do give extensions, but that better be one hell of a paper that you are writing. Get ready to work hard on the four papers you will have in one class, and to do intensive research. About the classes, they have very unique names, and so far, I have enjoyed every single one of my classes. When looking at classes, keep an open mind about what they are, since the names are anything but typical college class names. For some people this works, for others, it doesn't. About the professors, they know your name. Every single class I have gone to, they knew my name within a week. Which means, if you want to skip class, bad idea. If you like to skip, this is reflected in your final evaluation, which looks, well, bad. But the classes are all engaging, there is no real lecturing, although I heard that some professors do, it just really depends on who you choose. In terms of meeting with you, the professors are great with talking to you in person, but, sometimes e-mail isn't the best way of communication with some.

I absolutely love Hampshire's academic system. We use a different system than most colleges, called the Divisional system. As a Division I student (during your first year), you take courses in each of the five schools of thought at Hampshire (Natural Science, Cognitive Science, Social Science, Interdisciplinary Arts , and Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies). As a Division II student (during your second and third year), you take courses that relate directly to your interests, and your completed coursework creates a concentration. As a Division III student (your final year), you do a year long project (often of completely original work) that explores an aspect of your concentration. Hampshire professors are amazing. The entire college is on a first named basis, and I have actually seen professors get angry when referred to as "Professor" instead of by their first name. Because of the Divisional system, students really have to work closely with professors and interact with them, in terms of both finding professors to agree to be on their committee for Div II or Div III, and working with the professors who are on their committees. Professors make themselves available to students all the time, both in and out of the classroom, and act as both resources and friends to the students. And professors can be a large presence outside of class, as well: I attended an end-of-semester party for a class once, and the professor for that was there, with his students and the other party goers, sitting on a couch with a beverage in hand, telling his life story and giving career advice to his students. Students are supportive of each other because everyone's doing something different. Class discussions can be heated and professors almost never lecture. And if Hampshire doesn't have a class you're looking for, one of the other colleges in the Five College Consortium will.

Student and professor relationships are very intimate and on a first name basis. Because class sizes are small and it's easy to request one on one face time with a professor, it is nearly impossible to hide in the back of the class, mainly because their is no back. Most Hampshire classes take place in seminar form, seating situated in a circle, encouraging the exchange of ideas. Most of the classes at Hampshire deal with topics that are very sensitive and/or controversial leading toward polar views on the issues discussed. This creates heated but constructive debate in classrooms that then make their way to the library lawn and dining commons. Many don't understand how a college or academic environment works without grades or tests, but Hampshire students flourish in the educational setting that forces you to present yourself, your thoughts, your work. Hampshire college students are competitive in a more well rounded sense then those students who are simply competing for the best grade. Even though Hampshire students are evaluated on paper by their professors, students most constructive and passionate critiques come from their peers. This respectful peer to peer critique enables students to encourage only the best work from each other.

Professors here for the most part, are fantastic. Almost every teacher I've had has been very personable and interested in YOUR work and how you're doing in classes. I refer to all of my teachers by first name and it's easy to get close with them. Most classes are generall 10-15 students in size, but rarely you'll find a class with (at MOST) 35-40 people. My smallest class had 6 students in it and it was a theatre design class so the small size made our discussions great and indepth. Hampshire doesn't really have generic classes. Because we don't have to fulfill things like "psych 101" or "writing 101" we have really odd classes to fulfill requirements. In the first year 8 classes need to be taken. 3 can be extracurriculars, but the other 5 need to be one social science, one cognitive science, one natural science, one interdisciplinary art, and one humanities arts and culture course. So we have weird classes like "Little Course of Horrors; The Psychology of Humor and Horror in Theatre." The requirements can be a big pain. Some of them are without a doubt a GIANT waste of time, but they're not going to change too soon so it all depends on how dedicated you are. One of the biggest issues people have with Hampshire is Division I. That's your first year where your education (and 5 requirements) are meant to let you explore so you can really narrow down what you want to do. First years have the highest drop out rate because of the set up. Personally I feel like it's really been worth it. I'll be starting my Division III project next semester and I'm really excited to be doing MY own work without classes in the way.

Classes are intimate and fascinating. You'll call professors by their first name, and generally you'll find an easy time forming relationships with them. There are no grades, only evaluations. Although this gives you more room to screw up, it also gives you a lot more room to learn. Hampshire courses are VERY challenging; don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It's only a question of whether you can motivate yourself to learn. If you can, the end result will be an absolute wealth of knowledge. If you can't, you'll have a lot of free time.

the only reason i'm here is because of the film program...it's good, i really have genuinely liked all of my professors in the area. learned a lot. they're raising money to expand it right now. people do good work in the field, we have some alums who've done some great things in the industry. since it's small, you can actually get into the classes (anybody who tells you otherwise is just whining and not trying hard enough...it's EASY to get into ANY class at hampshire, just be persistent, you might have to wait another semester, but just e-mail the goddamn professor and they'll keep you in mind for the future). If the film program wasn't enjoyable and inspiring, i'd be fucking out of here.

The relation between the student and the professor is one of the most distinguished aspects of Hampshire academics. The structure of the degree allows the student to work closely with the faculty and to obtain continues attention from them . Furthermore, students are allowed a large degree of space in regard to the topics which which the deal throughout their academic degree. This exposes the student to a variety of new topics that bear large influence on the trajectory of his/her academic degree.

This is a great school to do whatever you want, as long as you know what you want to do. The Five Colleges and Division III project are the most appealing aspects of the Hampshire academic life.