Fall 2004 - Spring 2011 Division I

This describes the Division I program before Fall 2011, when the Educational Policy Committee's new Division I went into place.

All students entering Hampshire College during their first year are Division I (or Div I) students. Div I comprises Hampshire's Liberal Arts contingent, in that it requires students to take one course from each of the five schools. Students are assigned tutorial courses, taught by a professor who will be their advisor for the entirety of Div I, unless they choose to find a new advisor. Division I normally takes two semesters to complete.

The purpose of Division I as it now stands it to give students a knowledge basis in all the schools (while hopefully assisting them in choosing a more concentrated area of study too), and to provide them with the skills that are needed in Divisions II and III. "The distribution requirement introduces students to a broad range of subject matter before they choose an area of concentration. Division I also helps students to attain the methodological and critical tools of inquiry necessary for Division II and Division III work" the Hampshire website explains.

Requirements


 * Students must satisfactorily complete one class from each of the five schools, Social Science, Cognitive Science, Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies, Natural Science and Interdisciplinary Arts.
 * ALL first-year students must complete midterm self-evaluations on TheHub.
 * Students must write a Division I Retrospective and self-evaluation. The self-eval must be posted on TheHub
 * Students must select the courses they choose to count towards Division I, and only towards Division I.
 * Students must compose a Division I Portfolio, including Retrospective and Self-evaluations
 * Students must attend a Final Division I Meeting, and receive their Pass Forms on TheHub.
 * At the end of Division I, a student must assemble a Preliminary Concentration Form, replete with information on prospective committee members, a description of the Div II concentration, and some initial notion of how the student will complete the Community Service and Multiple Cultural Perspectives requirements.

Advantages of Division I
Div I is a fairly carefree time. Students have a great deal of leisure time, where they can socialize, enjoy themselves, and soak up the "college experience." Most Div I students live in either Dakin or Merrill, but during the housing shortage of fall 2006, the Div I students who were placed initially at the Howard Johnson Inn and at Amherst College were given renovated single rooms in either Greenwich, Enfield or Prescott. Additionally, the requirements of Div I force students to take courses they normally would not think to take, which can (although do not always) open up students to entirely new possibilities for Div II and Div III programs of study.