An invitation to do things differently
Hampshire College is a small liberal arts college in the heart of the Pioneer Valley. Founded in 1965, our goal is to empower independent-minded students with a method to self-actualize, now and for the rest of their lives. Students co-design their concentration with a faculty committee, very much like grad school students. They receive meaningful feedback in the form of narrative evaluations, and they have the expanse of the Five College Consortium to complement their academics on campus.
Why do things differently?
Hampshire is not for everyone- the structure is very different, and it takes a lot of self-motivation to make a major from scratch. But for students who are mature, hard-working, and tired of the status quo in the classroom, Hampshire is the best place to continue the journey. Some stats on the power of the Hampshire program:
- 1 in 4 of our alumni go on to start their own business or non-profit from our social entrepreneurship program.
- We’re in the top 3% of colleges and universities sending their students on to earn research doctorates, and 65% of our students attend grad school within 10 years of leaving Hampshire. And they do all of that with a narrative transcript.
- Community-engaged learning here is the norm; every student connects their studies to the world around them in our CEL programming.
- Through the Five College Consortium, students have access to over 6,000 courses a year, over 9 million volumes among 18+ libraries, 900 student organizations, and thousands of activities. It’s all connected by a free bus system, giving the area a slight metropolitan feel among the heritage farms.
- 5% of our Natural Science students graduate as lead authors on published research.
- Located on 150 acres of land, Hampshire’s farm center is one of the oldest and largest college-operated farms in the country. Students in agriculture, environmental science and design, and even studio arts use the farm in their coursework. Plus, we just had a litter of piglets.
- As of this year, Hampshire is the first and only college to meet 100% of its electricity needs from solar arrays. We are powered by the sun!
How to apply to Hampshire
Ready to make a change? Here’s what we require:
- Completed Common Application
- Writing Supplement
- Current transcripts
- School report, including guidance counselor recommendation
- Teacher letter of recommendation
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until July 1, 2018.