Division system

Div Rundowns!
Let’s face it: The Hampshire system can sometimes be a little confusing. Sure, you can rattle off the spiel when some well-meaning family friend asks you what you’re majoring in. But when it comes down to the nitty gritty, you may find you have only a vague grasp of how a Hampshire education is structured.

A comprehensive description of the Divisional system can be found in NSNS, p. 91-98, or on-line at the CASA intranet site (https://intranet.hampshire.edu/cms/index.php?id=6033). To learn more about Hampshire's academic structure as a whole, check out the Academic Program page. We strongly encourage you to give these pages more than a cursory once-over. Rather than reproduce all of that information here, we’ll just do a quick summary, and then highlight some details that you might be shaky on and present some tips.

Division I - "Foundational Studies"
All first-year students start at the Div I level...or, this being Hampshire, at least almost all of them do. For an overview of the Div I system and requirements, go here: Division I. Below are some things you may want to keep in mind while designing your Div I.

Save all of your course work! In order to pass Div I you’ll have to assemble a Div I portfolio, which must contain representative work from the entire Div. It’s preferable that these assignments be the original versions with faculty comments, rather than fresh copies you printed out the day before your portfolio was due.

If you have an idea of what you want to concentrate in, try to take a few classes your first year taught by professors in that field. Next year you’ll have to approach faculty about being on your Div II committee, and it can’t hurt to be a familiar face. (Note: Don’t freak out if you don’t know what you want to study yet, or if you end up radically changing your mind between Div I and Div II. Faculty whom you’ve never had a class with can and will join your committee.)

So there’s this 200-level course you really want to take, but it isn’t designated as fulfilling Div I distribution requirements. There may be a way around this! According to NSNS, "First-year students who present Advanced Placement Program (AP) scores of 3, 4, or 5 or International Baccalaureate (IB) scores of 5, 6, or 7 on Higher Level exams may use 200-level courses to fulfill the Division I distribution requirement in the relevant Schools." If you want to do this, talk to your advisor right away, as they may have to refer you to CASA or Central Records. "Placement must be recorded by central records during the add/drop period before it can be used for Division I," so you’ll need to sort this out during the first week or two of the semester.

Division II - "The Concentration"
You will pass into Division II upon completion of your Division I, usually some time in your second year.

There is a reason The Hub calls it, "My Editable Contract." Your Div II contract is not set in stone: at any point during your Div II you can consult with your advisors, renegotiate your course of study, and revise your contract, though we advise not choosing to do so the day before it's due.

Although it’s not officially required, we strongly encourage you to incorporate independent work into your Div II; you’ll be the better for it when Div III rolls around. If you don’t feel ready to dive into an independent study on your own, never fear: The Mentored Independent Study program is here! MIS pairs third-semester students with Div III mentors, who serve as guides and resources and generally work to keep the younger student on track. Look for more information towards the end of spring semester.

If you’re planning on doing field study or study abroad, Div II is the time to do it (probably during your second or third semester). Stop by the Global Education Office and check out the Study Abroad http://geo.hampshire.edu page for more info.

Division III - "Advanced Studies"
Division III is the culmination of your time at Hampshire, a year where you focus on one large project under the guidance of a committee of faculty members of your choosing. The type of project you do will depend upon your concentration: your Div III could be ethnography, an art installation, original research in the sciences, or a theatre project. It will likely include an extensive written component. The idea is that you make a significant contribution to your field of study. Sound intimidating? Check out former students’ Div IIIs for inspiration. Recent ones can be found by the library entrance and older ones are shelved on the second floor.

Div IIIs are also required to complete at least two "advanced educational activities." At least one of these activities should be a 300 level course or TA position, but you also have the option of doing a supervised internship or independent study or of serving as a mentor for the Mentored Independent Study program.

For a lighter take on Div III, check out the Division III title generator here: http://www.hampshire.edu/Admissions/namegen. Don't forget to add "for Social Change" at the end.