Division III Committee

The Division III Committee
The Division III Committee is not unlike the Division II Committee, in that they advise students on courses to take, their academic trajectory, Five College Certificate Programs, useful resources, and the like. Division III Committees additionally take on a further degree of responsibility via editing their advisees' Division III Thesis. Division III is not nearly as exploratory and "hands-off" as Division II, and during this year-long intensive course of study, committees normally convene once a week, or once every other week during the first semester, and on a far more regular basis during the second semester of Division III. While there is a great deal of difference from one committee to another, the Chair and Member may often also take a more active role in deciding the scope, range, intensity and logistical approach to a Division III. This setup is designed to provide the student with more opportunities to consult their Faculty advisees, while also instituting a higher degree of student accountability to the project itself through these weekly and bi-weekly checkups.

Getting a Division III Committee
At the end of Division II, a student will be advised by their Division II Committee that they need to fill out their Preliminary Division III Contract on TheHub. To complete this form, a student must get some idea of what their Division III Thesis will entail, communicate with potential Faculty advisors beforehand, and add these names to a drop-down menu. Committees are usually comprised of one Committee Chair and one Committee Member, although students may also take on a third member, either from Hampshire College or one of the other Five Colleges, though a tertiary member is rare. The Editable Contract Form filed with Central Records requires that students also outline how they will fulfill the Advanced Learning Activity requirement of Division III, which demands that students complete two higher-level activities, in the form of a 300-level course, a position as a Teaching Assistant, or through some alternative means which must be approved by the Committee and acknowledged by Central Records.

There is a delicate balance between advisors and advisees. Students enter the Division III process with specific ideas in mind; ideas that advisors may or may not share. For this reason, it is important for students to pick their advisors carefully, think critically about their projects, what defines 'manageable' in terms of course load and project scope, and which school(s) to collaborate with. Often, the largest issues with a student's Division III stem from


 * miscommunication with or vastly different views from that of the committee,
 * lack of vision and general confusion about the direction of a project
 * student laziness and a reluctance to write anything until the second semester of Division III
 * committee laziness and an inability to read or edit anything the advisee has written.

Tragically, the last two difficulties are most prominent at Hampshire College. Students often assume that because the first semester of Division III is usually spent doing literature reviews and research that they cannot write anything, which can place them at a disadvantage when second semester of Division III comes about. Professors are frequently overloaded with Division III advisees, and every professor dreads the Division III "charity case" where, as Professor Laura Wenk describes, "I have to write their thesis for them." Occasionally, a student will be proactive and work prolifically and diligently on their Division III Thesis, only to have their committee slack off and provide minimal feedback.

These challenges represent the anomalies; most Division III advisors and advisees interact well, provide one another with feedback and revisions, and maintain a healthy, productive relationship culminating in an excellent Division III Thesis and successful graduation.