Division III for Current Students

In Division III students devote the major part of their year to the independent study project and students must also undertake two Advanced Educational Activities (AEAs). Just as we expect scholars and artists to move beyond their fields of expertise and participate in collective activities that help to invigorate intellectual life, students are expected to engage in activities concurrent with their Division III that broaden the scope of their intellectual endeavor and make their skills and viewpoints available to the College and community at large.

Requirements

To complete Division III students must: 

• Participate in the committee request process.
• Develop and write an initial Division III contract.
• Successfully complete a year-long independent project
• Two (2) Advanced Educational Activities
• Complete a progress report according to published deadlines
• A final meeting with committee members

Division III Procedures

Division II Committee Request Process and Contract

Students begin to formulate their plans for Division III during their sixth semester. As part of the committee process, students identify and meet with faculty in their area(s) of interest working toward the goal of both developing a faculty committee who will oversee their Division III and formulating a Division III contract. The Division III contract is officially documented and electronically signed by faculty committee on The Hub

A student’s Division III contract includes:

• A proposal of their Division III project
• How they will complete their Advanced Educational Activities (AEAs)

Division III Project Proposal

Judgment of the quality and scope of the project proposal is the responsibility of a student's committee. Because the student is expected to design and complete an advanced independent project, considerable background must be acquired before Division III work is initiated. The independent project will usually grow out of the Division II concentration or some equivalent background.

Because the project proposal is both a planning document and an important part of the student's record, it should include the following:

• The purpose and substantive nature of the project
• The approach, techniques, and methods to be applied
• The kinds of resources (e.g., human, bibliographical) and facilities to be used and their availability
• The form the final project will take

Contract Revisions

When any aspect of the Division III project or advanced educational activities changes, students must complete a contract revision on The Hub approved by all members of the committee. Revisions must be submitted by the published deadlines early in the student's final semester of Division III.

Progress Reports

Each student must submit a progress report to their Division III committee on TheHub by the published deadlines. At this time, the student's Division III committee assesses in writing whether the student is progressing satisfactorily toward the completion of the contract. The chairperson is responsible for submitting the committee's assessment of progress to the central records office by the published deadlines.

Advanced Educational Activities

The Advanced Educational Activities should be described as fully as possible in the contract. In cases where work cannot yet be specified, the student may list alternative possibilities for fulfilling the requirement (for instance, when the course guide has not yet specified courses in upcoming semesters). The student and the committee must revise the contract when these plans are finalized. Methods of evaluation must be specified.

Division III Completion Timeline

Committee members will decide and committee chairs will communicate to students the date by which completed Division III work must be submitted to the committee ahead of the published Division III pass deadline. All final presentations, including film screenings, gallery shows, and theater productions, must take place by this date. 

If a final meeting does not take place by the published pass deadline, the student will request an extension for graduation and be charged the corresponding fee. All Division III evaluations will be due in Central Records ten days after the Division III pass deadline.

See Extensions for Division III Work.

Final Evaluation

The student’s full committee must sign the Division III pass form on TheHub by the appropriate deadline. The final evaluation by the Division III committee must address each part of the contract. The committee's recommendation for graduation is presented by the dean of faculty to the faculty as a whole, who vote to recommend awarding of degrees.