The Academic Experience
You might not know it yet, but your interest in GMC's mission means you're years ahead of the curve. That is, ahead of our world's understanding of something we're all hearing more about lately: the environment.
Our award-winning Environmental Liberal Arts (ELA) curriculum prepares our students to succeed in a future marked by rapid change and difficult decisions. How? By taking the natural and social environment as the organizing principle of the academic experience. Unlike traditional classes, the four core ELA courses cross disciplinary boundaries, challenging students to make connections and analyze complex physical and social problems. The result? Graduates are creative, flexible, and resourceful, qualities that never go out of style in life and the working world.
The ELA program also embodies the strengths of a traditional liberal arts curriculum. At GMC you will learn how to express yourself with clarity and precision in speech and writing, and graduate with superior critical thinking and analytical skills.
Learn How to Think, Not What to Think
Our classes are small and our setting intimate. That means that you won't get away with blending into the background in any course. Faculty and other students will challenge you to step out of your bubble, to entertain new thoughts, to develop opinions and defend them.
GMC students tell us that they are fully engaged in their education: They value the personal relationships they have with professors, and also appreciate being part of a close community. This data is reflected in the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), the most comprehensive assessment of effective practices in higher education. See how GMC stacks up against other schools in five major areas of academic success.
Teaching First
Green Mountain College has attracted award-winning teachers and notable scholars, trained at some of the world’s top universities including Brown, Colgate, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Johns Hopkins Medical School, New York University, Oxford (UK), Tulane, the University of California/Berkeley, and the University of Pennsylvania. Three faculty members are Fulbright scholars (in fact two of the five Fulbrights awarded in Vermont last year went to GMC professors). Our 53 full-time faculty members have a deep commitment to the mission of the College and to your success as a student.
During your time at GMC, some professors will become your mentors and friends as well. Don't be surprised to be invited to dinner with a professor's family; to see them working in the community; or to find them volunteering in leadership roles with regional groups like the Nature Conservancy and the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences.
Academics Outside the Classroom
It could be helping a Vermont nonprofit untangle its financial records. Or shooting a film about the oral history of the Slate Valley. Or organizing a special event to honor the life of a local freed slave who settled in Poultney in the late 1700s. Whatever it is, you learn in a deeper way when you apply classroom theory to real-world situations. That's why more than half of our faculty in any given semester integrates service learning into coursework. Our service learning office plays a key role in linking classes with community organizations an important part of GMC's mission.
It won't take you long to meet some characters who make their home at GMC's farm: There's Lou and Bill, our resident oxen team; Artichoke and Princess, our milking cows; and of course the legion of chickens and roosters who roam campus near the farm. The Farm & Food Project is a living laboratory for studies on sustainable living, agriculture, food consumption, natural resource management, and many other subjects.
Want to experience another culture? Green Mountain sponsors opportunities in Brazil, China, Italy and New Zealand, and we maintain student-exchange programs with the University of Wales-Aberystwyth and S. Korea's Hannam University. One of our most popular travel opportunities comes through the Eco League, a consortium of five cutting-edge environmentally themed colleges stretching from Maine to Alaska.
The Residential Experience
Ninety percent of our students live on campus, in one of six residence halls. This means students get to know each other outside of the classroom and develop relationships that last a lifetime.
Within our dorms, students form theme floors to welcome others with similar interests. For example, if you like a peaceful living environment, you can move onto the Quiet Floor; but if a hopping social scene is for you, the rooms on the Adventure Recreation Floor are always overflowing with kayaks and climbing gear. Other theme floors include Creative Arts, Community, Substance Free and Honors. All campus residence halls are co-educational and equipped with study areas, lounges, laundry facilities, and vending machines. The majority of rooms accommodate two students.
Never a Dull Moment
From music concerts to mountain adventures, Green Mountain students find plenty to keep them busy outside of the classroom. Most weekends, students have the opportunity to go on backpacking, kayaking, canoeing rock climbing, or ice climbing trips led by the GreenMAP (Green Mountain Adventure Programming) Office. GreenMAP also has all kinds of outdoor and camping equipment to rent.
The Gorge, in the lower level of Withey Hall, is the center for live music and other weekly entertainment, and the annual spring concert features a bigger band selected by student ballot. Two art galleries are located on campus. The Surdam Art Gallery hosts art exhibitions for senior art majors and current students, and the Feick Fine Arts Center attracts acclaimed artists from around the world. The College Programming Board brings entertainment to campus: Recent events include an international fashion show, a murder mystery event, and a Wednesday night music series.
Want to make the campus more sustainable for future students? Propose a project to the Student Campus Greening Fund and you just might see your vision become a reality. The idea is simple: The student body votes on proposals and the top projects are funded through a student activity fee. Recent projects have included installation of bike racks, recycling bins, and drying racks for the campus farm. Solar panels on the roof of the student center and a windmill near the farm are results of the SCGF.
