Divisions, Departments, and Programs

Colby College academic departments and programs are classified in the following divisions:

Division of Humanities, Professor Cedric Gael Bryant, chair, includes the departments of Art, Classics, East Asian Studies, English, French and Italian, German and Russian, Music, Philosophy, Spanish, and Theater and Dance.

Division of Social Sciences, Professor Randy A. Nelson, chair, includes the departments of Administrative Science, Anthropology, Economics, Government, History, Psychology, Religious Studies, and Sociology.

Division of Natural Sciences, Professor F. Russell Cole, chair, includes the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geology, Mathematics, and Physics and Astronomy.

Division of Interdisciplinary Studies, Professor Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, chair, includes the department of Physical Education and the programs of African Studies; African-American Studies; American Studies; Creative Writing; Education; Environmental Studies; International Studies; Jewish Studies; Latin American Studies; Science, Technology; and Society; and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Integrated Studies

Integrated Studies, first offered in the spring of 1997, is a pioneering program in liberal arts education, designed to explore an era or aspect of world civilization from the perspective of several disciplines. The Integrated Studies semester provides an opportunity for students to learn about a subject in depth and to make broad connections between disciplines that will help reveal the essential unity of human knowledge and experience. Structured around clusters of courses, the program is open to all classes. The program and the individual courses are described under "Integrated Studies" in the "Courses of Study" section of this catalogue.

Opportunities to Study Abroad

Colby maintains an Office of Off-Campus Study to help students make plans to study abroad or at a few domestic off-campus programs that are integrated into each major and academic program. Applications are processed through this office in advance of the student's enrollment in a program of study away from Colby. Students who transfer credits for full-time study in a non-Colby program are subject to a fee of $1,000 per semester. Financial aid may be applied, for qualified students only, to Colby programs and approved non-Colby programs. Students are required to consult their major advisor and the off-campus faculty liaison in their major department before making plans for study abroad. Sophomores will receive a handbook detailing procedures and listing approved Colby and non-Colby programs early in the fall semester. Applications for off-campus study during the year 2005-2006 are due by March 15, 2005, regardless of the semester for which the student is applying. Colby students normally study abroad for one semester. See the Office of Off-Campus Study for details. A 2.7 G. P. A. is required to study abroad, and students on probation of any kind may not study abroad.

Colby-Sponsored Foreign-Language Semesters

Colby offers an opportunity for students to satisfy the College's language requirement (and earn a semester's credit) by living abroad and studying the language intensively. These programs are available to sophomores and juniors.

Colby in Salamanca: This program provides the opportunity for students to learn Spanish at the University of Salamanca, one of the oldest universities in Europe. Students reside with families, attend intensive language courses, and have a full schedule of excursions to enrich their knowledge of Spanish life and culture. The program is under the supervision of a resident Colby director and is offered in the fall and spring semesters. Students must have completed Spanish 125 or at least two years of high school Spanish.

Colby in Dijon: This program offers students the opportunity to study French language, history, and art in Dijon, France, at the University of Burgundy. Cultural activities and excursions are included. Students live with French families. To qualify, students normally should have completed French 125 at Colby or have taken two years of high school French. The program is offered in the fall semester.

Colby-Sponsored First-Year Programs

The College offers the following programs abroad designed specifically for entering first-year students:

Colby in Salamanca: Refer to description above.

Colby in Dijon: Refer to description above.

Colby-Sponsored Programs Abroad for Juniors

While courses needed for most liberal arts majors are offered at the College, many students are attracted by the opportunity to study abroad for a comparative examination of their major field or a different perspective on their studies. Such programs are generally undertaken during the junior year. Colby offers study programs in Ireland, France, Spain, and Russia.

Colby in Cork: This is a program for students with any major in the natural sciences, social sciences, or humanities. Students live in flats and take regular university courses at University College Cork, where a Colby professor, the resident director of the program, teaches in his or her discipline. There are frequent group activities and excursions. Students may apply for the fall or spring semester.

Colby in Salamanca: This program offers complete integration into the Universidad de Salamanca, where students can take courses in any division alongside Spanish students. Students with any major may be accepted, but they must have taken at least Spanish 231 and one reading course. Participants choose to live with Spanish families or in apartments with Spanish students and agree to speak only Spanish for the duration of the program. The program is offered for the academic year or the fall or spring semester.

Colby in Dijon: For students who have satisfied the language requirement, Colby in Dijon offers advanced French language courses as well as courses in literature and history. Students live with French families and participate in a rich program of cultural excursions. This program is offered during the fall semester only.

Colby in St. Petersburg (Russia): This program, offered either semester, is available to students who have had at least two years of college Russian. It is small (maximum five students) and includes a set program of instruction in Russian language (grammar, phonetics, conversation, and composition), literature, and history (readings in Russian and English). Teaching is done by qualified instructors and takes place at the St. Petersburg Classical Gymnasium, where United States students teach two classes in English to Russian high school students. Students live with Russian families, and a full cultural program is offered, including excursions.

Colby-Bates-Bowdoin (CBB) Study Abroad Programs

A major grant by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation enabled Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin colleges to establish a study abroad consortium. The 2004-2005 academic year will be the final year of the program, which will offer courses at two centers abroad, each center providing a variety of study programs under the supervision and direction of faculty members from all three colleges. CBB centers are as follows:

CBB London Center: Administered by Colby College, the CBB London Center is located on Bloomsbury Square, near the British Museum. In 2004-2005 it will offer programs in biomedical science, English, government, history, performing arts, and psychology. Elective courses and internships are offered each semester.

CBB Cape Town Center: Administered by Bowdoin College, the CBB Cape Town Center is located in a secure residential neighborhood. Students take two courses at the center and two with South African faculty at the University of Cape Town. In 2004-2005 programs in English and geology will be offered.

For a list of courses taught at the CBB centers in 2004-2005, interested students should visit the Office of Off-Campus Study Web site (www.colby.edu/off-campus/).

Other Study Programs Abroad

For programs not sponsored by Colby, the College requires that students obtain approval for their course of study before the stated deadline; without such prior approval, credit will not be transferred to Colby. Approval forms and a handbook of approved programs are available from the Office of Off-Campus Study. For study abroad during the academic year 2005-2006, a preliminary application must be filed with the Off-Campus Study Office by November 15, 2004, and a final application submitted by March 15, 2005. Students receiving financial aid continue to receive that aid if they attend a Colby-approved program.

In addition to its own programs, the College approves study at a number of institutions and programs throughout the world that meet Colby's standards for academic rigor. With the exception of Colby's language acquisition programs in Salamanca and Dijon, students who wish to study in a country whose language is taught at Colby must have taken the equivalent of at least four semesters of the language before departure (some programs require more advanced preparation). In other countries, students are required to take courses in the host-country language for the duration of their program.

Students should be aware that due to enrollment constraints, they may not be able to study abroad in the semester of their choice (spring or fall) and that opportunities to study abroad for the full year are restricted. Colby students cannot get credit for study abroad undertaken in any country for which a U.S. State Department Travel Warning was issued prior to program departure.

Foreign Exchange

Colby has an exchange program with the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon, France. Each year, a student of this school comes to Colby as the French assistant, and Colby sends a student (normally a recently graduated French major) to France, where he or she may take courses or serve as an English-language assistant in a French high school.

Agreements with the Universidad de Salamanca and University College Cork, in conjunction with Colby's junior-year abroad programs at these universities, allow Spanish and Irish students to spend a year at Colby.

Approved Domestic Programs

Students wishing to participate in approved domestic programs must meet the same deadlines for preliminary and final applications as students who wish to study abroad. These programs are listed in the "Off-Campus Study Handbook" available each fall and on the Off-Campus Studies Web site. Opportunities include:

Exchange programs: Colby participates in student exchange programs with Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. Ordinarily, exchanges are arranged for a single semester of the junior year. Each student pays tuition, board, and room charges at the home institution; travel is at the student's expense.

A course exchange program is in effect with Bates, Bowdoin, and Thomas colleges. Students may obtain information from the registrar.

Colby in Washington: This semester program is designed to provide an academically rigorous and pedagogically diversified intellectual and cultural experience for Colby students. It is administered in cooperation with The Washington Center, with direct oversight by a Colby faculty member. Students with a variety of majors take advantage of the program, which is open to a maximum of 15 students from the junior and sophomore classes. Information is available from the Government Department.

Engineering Programs: Colby has a coordinated dual degree engineering program with Dartmouth College, in which both a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of engineering can be earned. Students spend their first two years and their senior year at Colby and their junior year and a fifth year at Dartmouth. The usual Colby graduation requirements must be met in addition to engineering prerequisites, so careful course planning is important. For more information, contact the engineering advisor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Field Experience/Internships: Qualified students may earn academic credit by undertaking off-campus field experiences or internships as participants in approved programs or by obtaining faculty sponsorship of an individual project or course of study. Refer to the section "Field Experience" under "Courses of Study" in this catalogue. Information on a wide variety of field experience opportunities as well as application forms for obtaining credit for field experience and internships are available in the Office of Career Services. Students planning to participate in field experience must be aware of deadlines for filing applications.

ROTC: Colby students may participate in Reserve Officer Training programs offered at other Maine sites. Information about these programs is available in the Dean of Students Office.

Professional Preparation

Many Colby graduates go on to study for advanced degrees in specialized areas of concentration. Specific committees of the College are available for professional preparation advice in the following areas:

Business: The pre-business advisor, with the assistance of the Department of Economics, counsels students preparing for careers in business. Pre-business students may major in any field, but they will benefit from early consultation with the pre-business counselor regarding appropriate course selection, internships, and post-graduate work experience required by most business schools.

Law and Government Service: The prelaw advisor counsels students preparing for careers in these areas. Prelaw students may major in any field, but they will profit from early consultation with the prelaw advisor on courses that provide the strongest possible liberal arts background for the study of law.

Medicine and Dentistry: Medical schools do not require a particular major but do require high academic standing and the inclusion of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and English in the student's college program. The Health Professions Preparation Committee provides formal advising and other support to assist students throughout their years at Colby.

Theology: Members of the Department of Religious Studies, in cooperation with the College chaplains, serve as advisors to students who plan to enter seminaries.

The Farnham Writers' Center

The Farnham Writers' Center is a resource for all Colby students, faculty members, staff, and members of their families. Trained Colby students operate the center with the philosophy that writing is not a discrete skill but rather an important part of thinking and learning. Writers' Center staff members work with writers at all levels of development, at any point during their writing processes, from first ideas to final drafts. Since writing occurs in courses across the curriculum at Colby, Writers' Center staff members are prepared to respond to various forms of discipline-specific writing—lab reports, case studies, application essays, and response writing, for example, as well as standard academic essays. While many elect to use the Writers' Center from time to time on particular pieces of writing, some may prefer more intensive collaboration and choose to enroll in English 112, a one-credit course that establishes weekly meetings with designated staff members. Writers' Center staff members also work with writers across Colby's diverse extended community: first-year composition students; students with particular writing difficulties, including diagnosed learning differences; senior scholars; students for whom English is not a first language or who do not speak English in their home environments; job and graduate school applicants; candidates for the Watson Fellowship and Fulbright Scholar Program; and all writers interested in developing skills specific to personal, professional, and civic contexts. The Farnham Writers' Center, located in Miller Library 9C, is open weekdays and selected evenings. More information can be accessed at www.colby.edu/writers.center.