Opportunities and Facilities

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, minor, or concentration 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.

Special Facilities

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), housed in duPont Library, provides a collection of twenty-first century resources for both classroom and personal use. The main lab serves as the primary student computing facility for the College of Arts and Sciences, and hosts fifty-eight seats in roomy carrels and open tabletop areas. PCs and Apple computers occupy all but eight of these seats, which are reserved for laptop computer docking. Ten of the fifty-eight seats host multimedia workstations, equipped with multimedia software, flatbed or slide scanners, CD burners, or other special peripherals. The Informational Resource Center (IRC) serves as a space for training and assisting students and faculty in the discovery, use, and management of electronic information resources. The Faculty Technology Development Center (FTDC) supports faculty activities of all ATC units, including the Instructional Technology Workshop (ITW), Academic Computing, and Media Services. The ATC also includes two classrooms that are equipped with desktop computers for students and an instructor's station. There is one classroom each for Mac- and PC-based computing platforms. The ATC 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 Edith Lodge Kellerman Language Laboratory houses audio, video, and computer equipment in an attractive language learning center.

University Observatory

The Cordell-Lorenz Observatory is an instructional laboratory for astronomy courses offered by the department of physics and used for public observations. Programs throughout the year and open hours every Thursday evening from 8 until 10 p.m. (weather permitting) encourage both academic and enrichment activities.

The largest telescope for public observations is an eleven-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain (Celestron Ultima) reflector. There are also smaller ten-inch and 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, 0.35 and 0.30 meter (fourteen and twelve inches) telescopes on computer controlled mounts are housed in a small roll-off shed 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.

Oak Ridge Semester

Students interested in experimental science may apply to spend a semester in residence at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The student receives a semester of credit, the experience of working with an ORNL researcher, and the opportunity to develop original research. Participants are considered in absentia in the college and pay normal tuition but no other fees.

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. Studnets planning for this program may seek portability of financial aid (by the established deadlines) and must also completed paperwork required by the associate dean of the college to establish a leave from Sewanee.

ACE (A Career Exploration) Internships

Internship opportunities, in any field, brought to the attention of Career Services by alumni or friends of the University. Opportunities include internships with sponsors such as Yale Medical School, Smith Barney, federal judges, and many others. The list is available to Sewanee students through a secure, on-campus website.

Biehl Program in International Studies

A self-directed social science research internship conducted outside of the United States and other English-speaking First World countries. Projects should facilitate substantial contact with the society to be studied and should be focused in one area, or a few closely related locales, rather than several sites. Open to returning majors in the departments of anthropology, Asian studies, economics, history, political science, and international and global studies.

Lilly Endowment Internships for Vocational Exploration: Religious, Clinical 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. Clinical or medical research internships and internships in the arts or those that engage scholarship and work are also acceptable. See www.sewanee.edu/lillyproj/lsdi.html for other program opportunities.

Medical Internships

Internships with alumni of the University in medical practices, research centers, or laboratories. Open to majors in all fields and to undergraduates and immediate graduates.

Raoul Conservation Internships

Internships developed by majors in the department of forestry and geology for the direct application of their studies of the environment. Open for undergraduates and immediate graduates in the department of forestry and geology through the Raoul Fund.

Environmental Studies Internships

Sewanee’s environmental studies program offers stipends for environment-related summer programs in and outside of the United States thanks to the generosity of the Brewster Fund and the Leroy Fund. Open to students majoring in environmental studies.

Stephenson Internships

Summer internships open to any major for any type of internship are made possible by the Stephenson Fund. A minimum of three informational interviews in the field of work for the internship are required. These interviews, and how they impacted the choice of the study of that field, should be fully discussed in the proposal.

Internships in Public Affairs

Undergraduates are eligible for supported summer internships in public affairs made possible by the Tonya Foundation of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and administered by the Department of Political Science. The grants are awarded, based on proposals, to work in federal, state, or local government, or in the private sector in an area related to public affairs.

Internships in Economics

The Internship Program in Economics is for students interested in some area related to the private sector of the economy. The major purpose of the program is to enhance and enrich the learning of students through work and study in a job setting. Sponsored with support of the Tonya Foundation, the program is administered by the Department of Economics.

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 degrees 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.