Service-Learning
There are many service-learning opportunities available at Sewanee. Some are associated with individual courses, and others with independant work with the help of faculty and various offices in the college.
Special (Student-Initiated) Majors
Interdisciplinary majors, which are individualized to meet a student's needs and goals, may be initiated by students. Such majors must provide benefits not obtainable through an established major. After consultation with the associate dean of the college, a student may complete a form designed for special majors and submit this for consideration by the curriculum committee. If the proposal is accepted by the curriculum committee, it goes on to the faculty for approval.
A specified faculty coordinator, with other participating faculty (usually two additional), is responsible for advising students and administering comprehensive exams in each independent major. These majors adhere to the rules of other majors. No pass/fail courses can be included in the interdisciplinary major, and major courses cannot be counted toward a major or minor in another field.
Student-Initiated Courses
During second semester, as many as three special courses may be offered based on student proposals. Proposals must be submitted during the first month of the preceding semester to the dean of the college.
If such a course is offered, all students who request/propose it are expected to register for it except under exceptional circumstances. All courses must have the approval of the faculty.
French, German, Spanish, and Russian Houses
A certain number of students are accepted as residents in the French, German, Spanish, and Russian houses each year. Students enter at the beginning of the semester and agree to speak only the language of the house when in the house to enrich their language experience. Cultural and social events are also scheduled in each house.
Academic Technology Center
The Academic Technology Center (ATC), located in the Jessie Ball duPont Library, provides a collection of twenty-first century resources. The main lab serves as the primary student computing facility with roomy carrels and open tabletop areas. Dell and Macintosh computers are available and loaded with a variety of specialized software used in academic disciplines. There are also several multimedia workstations equipped with multimedia editing software, flatbed or slide scanners, and video-capture peripherals. The Writing Center is located in the ATC lab and tutors are available to assist students with writing assignments. The ATC also includes two classrooms equipped with desktop computers for students and an instructor's station, a digital video editing classroom, a screening room and a courtyard with comfortable chairs and laptop tables. The ATC is equipped with wireless network access and is open 24/7.
Landscape Analysis Lab
The Landscape Analysis Lab provides opportunities for students to participate in interdisciplinary environmental research, education, and outreach. Faculty in the lab come from the departments of biology, economics, forestry, philosophy, political science, and religion. The lab offers internships and independent studies in which students work with faculty on research projects, engage in outreach to local schools, and collaborate with government, non-profit institutions, and corporations. These activities center around the lab's state-of-the-art Geographic Information Systems computer network which contains detailed spatial information about land use, biodiversity, and socio-economic factors for the Cumberland Plateau and the southeastern United States.
Language Laboratory
The E.L. Kellerman Language Lab provides an opportunity for students in the modern foreign languages to immerse themselves in the sounds and culture of their target language. The facility features a state of the art Sanako Lab 100 system for practice with listening and speaking, a Satellite TV with stations in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish, wireless Macintosh laptops which can be checked out, a Sympodium for multimedia displays, and a cozy reading and viewing lounge with a library of foreign language books, magazines, and videos. Students can also use an ever-expanding collection of free standing CD ROM language programs for reinforcing what is being taught in class as well as for learning languages not currently taught at the University such as Arabic, Swahili, and Thai. Faculty and students alike take advantage of the language lab’s audio- and video-editing equipment and analog-to-digital-conversion facilities in preparing engaging presentations for class. The language lab is open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. except for Fridays when it closes at 4:00 p.m. and then reopens Sunday from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
University Observatory
The Cordell-Lorenz Observatory is an instructional laboratory for astronomy courses offered by the department of physics and astronomy and also for public observations. Programs throughout the year and open hours every Thursday evening from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. (weather permitting), while classes are in session, encourage both academic and enrichment activities.
The largest telescope for public observations is a ten-inch Schmidt-Newtonian reflector. There are also other ten-inch and one three and one-half-inch telescopes which are often used, as well as large binoculars. The dome houses a classic six-inch refracting telescope crafted by Alvan Clark and Sons in 1897. It has been restored to its original quality and historical appearance by Dr. Francis M. Cordell Sr. of the Barnard Astronomical Society.
For research purposes, one 0.35 and five 0.30 meter (fourteen and twelve inches) telescopes on computer controlled mounts are housed in several small roll-off sheds on the roof of Carnegie. These telescopes have sensitive CCD detectors which are used to monitor newly discovered asteroids, comets, supernovas, gamma ray bursts, and variable stars.
Lilly Discernment Programs
Through a grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc., in 2001, Sewanee initiated a comprehensive program aimed at assisting students to seek a career path that is truly fulfilling and of service to the world. An additional grant was awarded by Lilly Endowment, Inc. to sustain the following three program areas through September 2009. The "How Then Shall We Live?" lecture series brings visiting lecturers to talk with students about issues of vocation and service as well as virtues and values. Funding is provided to promote service-learning courses and opportunities on campus. There is also an eight-week summer program of vocational exploration called the Lilly Summer Discernment Institute. This program includes a six-week internship, for either the ordained ministry or work with service or non-profit organizations. The website www.sewanee.edu/lillyproj/lsdi.html has more information.
Food and Hunger: Contemplation and Action
An examination of the interactions among scientific, ethical, and cultural aspects of hunger. The readings, lectures and discussions in the course are supplemented with work with local aid organizations and with exploration of the contemplative practices that motivate and sustain many of those who work with the hungry. The course is offered in the fall semester.
Island Ecology Program
The Island Ecology Program is an interdisciplinary summer field school in the sciences. Following a seminar during the Easter (spring) semester, students study geology, marine biology, botany, and wildlife ecology for five weeks on St. Catherine's Island, an undeveloped barrier island off the coast of Georgia. The experience emphasizes the interdependence of these disciplines by exploring how the fragile ecosystem of the island functions. The program is limited to ten Sewanee students but is open to non-science as well as science majors. Four faculty members from three departments teach in the program each spring and summer.
Theatre Semester in New York
Theatre Arts majors or minors in their junior year may apply to spend a semester in intensive theatre study in New York City. The program is based at the Michael Howard Studio, a small professional theatre school. Participants generally take courses in acting, voice and speech, and movement. The program is flexible and can accommodate students with diverse interests, such as playwriting, directing, design, dance, or stage management. Students, as part of their study, may also arrange internships with professional theatre organizations in New York.
Those who successfully complete the program receive four course credits (sixteen semester hours) for Theatre 444. Students who wish to apply must have at least a 2.5 GPA and must have completed at least three of the courses required of the Theatre Arts major: Elements of Production, Elements of Performance, Elements of Design, and at least one, preferably two, studio courses in their area of interest (acting, directing, design, etc.). Individuals interested in the program may apply, usually in the second semester of their sophomore year, by writing to the program director. Students planning for this program may seek portability of financial aid (by the established deadlines) and must also complete paperwork required by the associate dean of the college to establish a leave from Sewanee.
INTERNSHIPS — These short-term positions give the student an insider’s view of the day-to-day reality of many different career fields. Students gain significant, practical work experience to add to their resumes and valuable contacts with established professionals. The internships give students a sense of their own vocational interests.
Sewanee’s internship programs feature these unique benefits:
• Paid Internships — Students can pursue the internships that interest them, even if the internship site does not have funding. Generous grants and gifts from alumni and friends enable the University to fund more than 120 internships per year.
• Resources and Support — The University’s career services staff and alumni network can help a student find, arrange, or even create an internship opportunity.
• Flexibility — Sewanee’s well-established internship programs offer a history of positive relationships with internship sponsors and the flexibility to fit student interests.
ACE (A Career Exploration) Internships
Internship opportunities, in any field, brought to the attention of Career Services by alumni or friends of the University. The list is available to Sewanee students through a secure website.
ACE Medical Internships
Alumni of the University generously sponsor paid internships within their medical practices, research centers, or laboratories. Open to majors in all fields and to undergraduates and immediate graduates.
Aiken Taylor Internship
A postgraduate internship at Sewanee with the editor and managing editor of
The Sewanee Review, the nation’s oldest continuously published literary quarterly.
Biehl Program in International Studies
A self-directed social science research internship conducted outside of the United States and other English-speaking countries. Open to returning majors in the departments of anthropology, Asian studies, economics, history, political science, and international and global studies.
Business and Economics Internships
Students develop internships that enable them to participate in, and observe firsthand, the methods by which business firms conduct their affairs in a free market economy. Many opportunities are available through the ACE program and the efforts of the Center for Global Commerce. Sponsored by Tonya, Probasco, Bing, and Bank of America funds.
Dominican Republic Internships
Students with strong skills in Spanish (any major) are able to work in either a business setting or on health and human service issues.
Environmental Studies Internships
Sewanee’s Environmental Studies Internship Fund offers stipends for environment-related summer programs in and outside of the United States thanks to the generosity of the Brewster, Leroy and Thomas funds. Open to students of all majors.
Gessell Fellowship for Social Ethics
Provides funds to enable an independent, year-long research project in social theory or social ethics. The project may be an academic research paper or field experience. Projects with a local focus are particularly encouraged. (Awards alternate yearly between undergraduate students and seminary students.)
Lilly Endowment Internships for Vocational Exploration: Religious and Non-profit Service
The Lilly Summer Discernment Institute allows students to develop internships of vocational exploration in either church or church-related organizations or within service and non-profit spheres.
Powell Arts Internships
The Powell Internship Fund provides financial assistance to students who wish to pursue a summer internship in studio art, art history, or a corollary profession.
Raoul Conservation Internships
Internships developed by majors in the Department of Forestry and Geology for the direct application of their studies of the environment.
Scientific Research Internships
Summer stipends are available for students to conduct research in Sewanee and beyond through the Beatty, Davis-Pinson, Greene, Physics, and Yeatman funds.
Stephenson Internships
Funding for summer internships open to any major for any type of internship are made possible by the Stephenson Fund.
Tonya Public Affairs Internships
Internships that enable students to participate in or study public policy through work in federal, state, or local government or in the private sector in an area related to public affairs.
Academic Credit for Internships
A student awarded academic credit for a supervised internship through an approved off-campus program of study (e.g., study abroad), who also has prior approval from the major department to count the internship as part of the major, is normally allowed to transfer this academic credit to count toward a degree at Sewanee. This transfer of credit is subject to the approval of the associate dean of the college. Internships that are associated with such programs of study but are outside the discipline of the major are considered on a case-by-case basis by the College Standards Committee. Public affairs internships may serve as the basis of enrollment in Political Science 445 through which credit may be earned. Internships offered independently of programs of study do not receive academic credit unless the internship has been recommended for credit by the Committee on Curriculum and Academic Policy and approved by the college faculty. Students may seek Independent Study (444) credit when required by the internship site/sponsor.
SEWANEE SCHOOL OF LETTERS
The School of Letters is a summer program in Literature and Creative Writing, offering the M.A. and the M.F.A. degree and designed to provide a graduate program of the best quality to students who have only summers to devote to study. Students must already hold a bachelor’s degree and must apply for admission. The faculty consists of Sewanee professors, from English and allied departments, and distinguished professors from other campuses. Taking a typical load of two courses per summer, students can complete either degree in five years. M.F.A. students must complete eight courses, half of them writing workshops, earning a grade of “B” or better, and then write a thesis to earn a final two course credits. M.A. students must also complete at least eight courses, including at least two in English literature, at least two in American literature, and at least one in non-English literature in translation. These students may earn their final two credits either by writing a thesis or by taking additional courses. The program runs for six weeks each summer, from early June through mid-July. The website http://www.sewanee.edu/SL/ provides more information.
COLLEGE SUMMER SCHOOL
The college's six-week summer session serves students who wish to broaden or enrich their academic program, gain additional credits, or speed acquisition of their degree. Incoming freshmen may wish to take summer classes to adjust to college challenges in a more relaxed atmosphere.
College faculty provide the instruction. Course content is the same as during the academic year. Both introductory and advanced courses are offered. The website www2.sewanee.edu/academics/summer provides more information.
STUDY ABROAD
Students in good academic and social standing are encouraged to broaden their educational experience with study in another country for a semester, a summer, or a full year. Study abroad takes place, most often, during the junior year.
The associate dean of the college approves all study abroad and serves as the coordinator of foreign study. All students who intend to study abroad must complete and have approved the application forms necessary for a leave of absence for study abroad. Forms are available from the Office of the Dean of the College and must be submitted by deadlines announced by that office. Failure to submit these forms appropriately may mean that the student must apply for readmission to the college, or it may mean that the student cannot participate in study abroad. Applications must be approved by the associate dean and the chair of the department in which the student is majoring.
To be recommended for a semester, year, or summer program, students must have made normal academic progress, have achieved a 2.5 GPA, and possess the necessary language skills to carry out the proposed program.
The University of the South is actively affiliated with a number of programs, including but not restricted to those listed below.
SUMMER PROGRAMS
British Studies at Oxford and International Studies in London are sponsored by Rhodes College (in affiliation with the Associated Colleges of the South) and Vanderbilt University, respectively. The British Studies program, conducted at St. John's College, Oxford University, for five weeks in July and August, emphasizes the humanities and social sciences. It focuses on a specific cultural era each summer. The International Studies program, conducted in facilities of the University of London for five weeks, emphasizes the social, economic, and political aspects of contemporary international problems. A particular theme is followed each summer.
Summer programs at Barcelona, Beijing, Dublin, London, Madrid, Melbourne, Milan, Paris, Salamanca, and Tokyo are sponsored by the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES). These programs, conducted in a university setting, offer four or five weeks of study in languages, literature, art history, politics, and other subjects. IES is formally affiliated with forty-six colleges and universities (including The University of the South) and less formally associated with over fifty others.
Summer program in China and India: Under the direction of Professor Yasmeen Mohiuddin, Sewanee students may take advantage of summer study in China/India. The continuing issue of the program is economic development, with other subjects also included in different summers. (Note: does not fulfill the study abroad requirement for Asian Studies.)
Summer in South Asia Program centers on a course entitled "Microfinance Institutions in South Asia," which has a service-learning component. The program is over three weeks in duration and includes seven days of study in Sewanee, nine days in Bangladesh, six days in Italy, and three days of travel. It offers credit for one full academic course. Students visit the renowned Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and get the unique opportunity to observe, review, and evaluate operations of the Grameen Bank in remote villages and to conduct interviews and focus group discussions with poor women borrowers. They also go on extended field trips to United Nations World Food Program projects and sites that are often inaccessible to tourists and even to educational tour groups. The visit to Rome focuses on meetings with officials of United Nations agencies, such as the WFP (World Food Program) and IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) that have played a crucial role in funding microfinance programs.
Summer program in Southeast Asia, China, or Japan: Under the direction of Professors Harold Goldberg and Daniel Backlund, Sewanee students may take advantage of summer study that rotates with three different itineraries: one summer in Southeast Asia, then one summer in China, then one summer in Japan. The continuing issue of the program is history and theatre and the relationship between those areas in each country. Students learn about the development of major traditional theatre forms from their origins in folklore, myth, and relgion, within the historical, cultural, and aesthetic framework of their times, as well as their place in today's world. Students study and observe training practices in seven of Southeast Asia's best traditional theatre schools, see at least fifteen live performances followed by backstage tours where they meet with the artists, and in addition, tour some of the most important historical and cultural locations in the region. (Note: does not fulfill the study abroad requirement for Asian Studies.)
Sewanee in France is a five-to-six-week program, sponsored biennially by the Department of French, offering an opportunity for students to live with a French family and to study the language, culture, and literature of France. The two-course program is based in Hyères, in Mediterranean Provence, with follow-up travel to places of cultural and literary interest before culminating in a few days in Paris.
Sewanee in Spain offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of medieval Spain and the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. Classes meet in Sewanee, in Madrid, and on the pilgrimage road in northern Spain between early June and late July. The program offers credit for two full courses — Spanish 314: Introduction to Medieval Spain and The Road to Santiago; and Art 214: Spanish Art, Western Art, and The Road to Santiago. In addition, students who walk 200 of the 280 miles of the proposed route may receive credit for Physical Education 214: The Road to Santiago.
Sewanee in Russia takes students on a cultural and educational tour of Russia. This includes lectures by Sewanee faculty and many other professionals from Moscow State University, Petersburg State University, as well as museum specialists. Students visit a large number of cultural locations such as indoor and outdoor museums, churches and cathedrals, cemeteries, and attend a number of cultural events including but not limited to the ballet, folk dance, the theater, the opera, the symphony, the circus, the movies, and more. The program takes place in late May during the years that it is offered.
SEMESTER or YEAR PROGRAMS
European Studies, which takes place during the first semester each year, is jointly sponsored by Rhodes College and the University of the South. Students begin the program with four weeks in Sewanee in the summer, then two weeks in the north of England (York or Durham), and six weeks in Oxford. Subsequently, one group travels to a variety of medieval or Renaissance sites on the European continent, while the other focuses on the roots of classical civilization in Italy, Greece, and Turkey. The program ends before Thanksgiving, allowing additional travel time.
Sewanee Semester in Spain focuses on Muslim Spain and its legacy in contemporary Spain. It is interdisciplinary in nature, and particularly during the first six-week orientation period classes, papers, cultural activities, and writing involves a variety of topics. The program consists of four full courses — Spanish 306: Advanced Spanish language; Spanish 310: Contemporary Spanish Culture and Civilization; History 369: Muslim Spain: Glory, Decline, and lasting influence in contemporary Spain; and Art History 315: Islamic Spain and Spanish Art. A two-week field trip to Andalusia and Morocco forms an integral part of the program.
The Institute for the International Education of Students (IES) provides opportunities to study for a semester or a year in the following European locations: Austria and Germany (Berlin, Freiburg, and Vienna); France (Nantes and Paris); Ireland (Dublin); Italy (Milan, Siena and Rome); The Netherlands (Amsterdam); Spain (Madrid, Salamanca, Grenada, and Barcelona); and the United Kingdom (London). There is also a special program on the European Union, held in Freiburg. The faculty in each of these programs is composed principally of European scholars. Courses are available in most undergraduate subjects. Internships are available with Parliament in London and with businesses and international organizations in other locations.
The Institute for the International Education of Students (IES) also enables students to study for a semester or a year in university programs in Argentina (Buenos Aires), Australia (Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney); China (Beijing); Chile (Santiago); Ecuador (Quito); India (Delhi); Japan (Nagoya and Tokyo); and New Zealand (Auckland and Christchurch). In Nagoya, previous study of Japanese is not required for students entering in the fall. For spring semester applicants, at least one year of Japanese is required. Lecture classes are taught in English.
Study in Canada is available through a new student exchange program with Renison College of the University of Waterloo.
Study in France is also available through Vanderbilt in France and in Aix-en-Provence through the Institute of American Universities. More information about study in French-speaking countries is available in the Office of the Dean of the College.
Study in Spain is also available in Seville through the Center for Cross-Cultural Study in Spain and in Madrid through the Vanderbilt-in-Spain program in which the University of the South cooperates. Students in the Vanderbilt program spend one or two semesters at the University in Madrid studying Hispanic language, history, art, and literature.
Study in Sweden is available in English, in the fields of biology, forestry, natural resources, and economics through an exchange agreement with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala.
Study in Germany is also available for a full year or for the second semester at the University of Bamberg. Sewanee students pay the regular fees at the University of the South and take normal university courses at Bamberg in various areas of the humanities. Intensive language preparation in Bamberg is a required part of the program. A German student spends a year at Sewanee under the provisions of this exchange.
The Federation of German American Clubs and the Department of German administer a full scholarship for a Sewanee student to study for a year at one of the German universities. Students are guests of the federation at a variety of academic and social functions.
Study in Japan is also made possible by an exchange agreement between the University of the South and Rikkyo University in Tokyo. Rikkyo (originally St. Paul's) sends a student annually to Sewanee. Some knowledge of Japanese is required for admission to Rikkyo.
Direct enrollment in an institution abroad benefits many students who choose locations like England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand. This may be arranged independently or through the Institute for Study Abroad (IFSA) at Butler University or the Center for Education Abroad (CEA) at Arcadia University. Internships in the Scottish Parliament are available. In addition, others choose the interdisciplinary integrative approach of the School for International Training, with many locations worldwide.
The Associated Colleges of the South (ACS), of which Sewanee is a charter member, has a study abroad program in Costa Rica which emphasizes sustainable development and a new program in Turkey. In addition, affiliated ACS programs are located in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Senegal and Sierra Leone, Hong Kong, Japan, Melbourne (Australia), Oxford (British Studies), Copenhagen (Denmark), Athens (Greece), Rome (Italy), and Israel (archaeological excavation at Sepphoris).
Service-Learning is sponsored by the Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion; through programs of the International Partnership for Service Learning. Students may enroll for a summer, a semester, or a full year, choosing from domestic and foreign locations. Through lectures, reading, field trips, and study of language and literature, students learn about the history and culture of their chosen country or region while exploring its contemporary needs and customs through their service placements. The program combines community service with formal academic study in the Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, France, India, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, the Philippines, Scotland, and South Dakota.
Numerous additional study abroad options are available to Sewanee students. Information is available from the associate dean of the college.
