Division of Humanities, Professor Patrick Brancaccio, chair, includes the departments of Art, Classics, East Asian Studies, English, French, German and Russian, Music, Performing Arts, Philosophy, Spanish.

Division of Social Sciences, Associate Professor Debra Barbezat, chair, includes the departments of Anthropology, Economics, Government, History, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology.

Division of Natural Sciences, Associate Professor Duncan Tate, chair, includes the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geology, Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy.

Division of Interdisciplinary Studies, Associate Professor David Firmage, chair, includes the departments of Administrative Science, Education and Human Development, and Physical Education; and the programs of African-American Studies, American Studies, Creative Writing, Environmental Studies, International Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American Studies, Science, Technology, and Society, and Women’s 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 Away  Colby maintains an Office of Off-Campus Study to provide information and guidance to students planning to study in another country or at a few off-campus programs located in this country. 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, to Colby programs and approved non-Colby programs. Students are required to consult their major and minor advisers, as well as the off-campus faculty liaison in their major or minor 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.

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. One-semester programs are:

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.

Additional information on these foreign-language semesters may also be obtained from the Admissions Office (for entering first-year students).

Colby-Sponsored First-Year Programs  Designed specifically for entering first-year students, the College offers the following programs abroad:

Colby in Salamanca: Refer to description above.

Colby in Dijon: Refer to description above.

Colby in London: Provides the experience of living and studying in one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities. A resident Colby professor supervises all aspects of the program, a "study group" that includes a fixed curriculum arranged especially for incoming first-year Colby students. Because London is the theater capital of the English-speaking world, the program’s core is related to the performing arts and is augmented by courses in English composition, literature, and history. Participants reside with selected families in and near London. The program is offered in the fall semester.

Colby-Sponsored Junior Year Abroad Programs  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 part or all of the junior year. Colby offers junior-year abroad programs in Ireland, England, 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 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 has enabled Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin colleges to establish a study abroad consortium. In its initial phase, the consortium will establish three centers abroad, each center offering a variety of study programs under the supervision and direction of faculty members from all three colleges. CBB centers include:

CBB London Center: Opening in the fall of 1999, the CBB London Center, located near the British Museum in the Bloomsbury district, will house five programs, including comparative government, art history, English literature, international relations, and performing arts. The curriculum for the London Center for 2000-2001 will be set in the fall of 1999.

CBB Quito Center: The Andean Center for Latin American Studies (ACLAS) will serve as the CBB Center in Ecuador, and a program in Latin American studies, under the direction of professors from Bates and Bowdoin Colleges, is offered during the fall semester of 1999. Future programs at the Quito Center will be announced in the fall of 1999.

CBB Cape Town Center: The South African center for the consortium will open in the fall of 2000. Students will be able to take part of their curriculum at the University of Cape Town and part at the CBB Center. More information will be available in the fall of 1999.

Colby Affiliated Programs  Responding to the increasing student interest in diversity of educational programs, the College offers, often as a member of a special consortium, several programs abroad.

Associated Kyoto Program: This is a junior year abroad program associated with Doshisha University in the ancient capital of Kyoto, Japan. Colby is one of 12 liberal arts colleges that jointly oversee the program. Study of the Japanese language is required. Students may study Japanese culture, history, literature, economics, politics, and religion. Students live with a Japanese family for the first semester and are encouraged to participate in university cultural and/or athletic activities. Information is also available from the East Asian Studies Department.

Chinese Language Studies Away: Students with a minimum of one year of college-level Chinese may participate in a semester or year-long program administered by the Council for International Exchange (Beijing, Nanjing, or Taipei) or the Associated Colleges in China (Beijing). More information is available from the East Asian Studies Department.

I.S.L.E. Sri Lanka Program: Colby is a member of the Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Education consortium. Students may study in Sri Lanka during the fall semester on a program that combines study of Sinhala as well as courses in the philosophy and culture of the country. Students live with families, and the program is supervised by a resident director from one of the consortium colleges.

Study in Paris (France): Colby is an affiliate of the Hamilton College Junior Year in Paris program, available to qualified students for the full academic year. See the French Department for details.

Other Junior Year Abroad Programs  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 2000-2001, a preliminary application must be filed with the Off-Campus Study Office by November 5, 1999, and a final application submitted by March 15, 2000. Students on financial aid continue to receive that aid if they attend a Colby-approved program.

In addition to its own programs and CBB programs, the College approves study at a number of institutions and programs throughout the world that meet Colby’s standards for academic rigor and cultural integration. 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.

Foreign Exchange  Colby has an exchange program with the École Normale Supérieure in Fontenay/St. Cloud, 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.

Domestic Exchange  Colby participates in student exchange programs with Howard University in Washington, D.C., Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, and Pitzer, Pomona, Scripps, and Claremont McKenna colleges in Claremont, California. 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. Students may obtain information about exchange programs from the Office of Off-Campus Study.

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

Other Domestic Programs  Programs available to Colby students are sponsored by the College or by other United States institutions. 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.

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 coordinated programs with Dartmouth College, the University of Rochester, and Case Western Reserve University as an alternative to graduate work in engineering. Both a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of science in engineering can be earned upon successful completion of three years at Colby and two years in engineering at one of the above institutions. Students graduating in this program are exempt from Colby’s senior year in residence requirement, but all other graduation requirements must be met. Information is available through the Department of Physics.

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 Off-Campus Study. 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.

Sea Semester: A limited number of students earn transferable credit through participation in this program of academic instruction and practical experience focusing on the oceanic environment. The program consists of both shore and sea components and is sponsored by the Sea Education Association (Woods Hole, Massachusetts) in cooperation with Boston University.

Washington Semester Programs: An opportunity is available for a limited number of Colby sophomores and juniors to participate in the various Washington Semester programs organized by American University in Washington, D.C. Students can obtain firsthand knowledge of the national government as it deals with the crucial problems of foreign policy, economic policy, criminal justice, environmental issues, and urban affairs.

Williams College-Mystic Seaport Program in American Maritime Studies: Colby is one of several institutions participating in this one-semester program offering courses in American maritime history and literature, marine policy, oceanography, and marine ecology. Twelve days are spent at sea on a sailing vessel. In addition to formal course work, students develop maritime skills (e.g., celestial navigation, boat building, small-boat handling) under professional instruction. The program is accredited through Williams College.

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:

Law and Government Service: The prelaw adviser 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 adviser 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 advisers to students who plan to enter seminaries.

The Farnham Writers’ Center  The Farnham Writers’ Center is available as a resource for all Colby students, faculty, and staff. The center is staffed by trained peer tutors and operates with the philosophy that writing is not a discrete skill but an important part of thinking and learning. The Writers’ Center can help writers at all levels of development at any point during their writing process, from first ideas to final draft. Since writing occurs in courses across the curriculum at Colby, the tutors are trained to work with various forms of writing–lab reports, case studies, application essays, and response writing, for example, as well as the standard academic essay. In addition to using the center from time to time on particular pieces of work, students can enter into extended tutorials and meet regularly with any one of the tutors to work more intensively on their writing. The Writers’ Center serves all Colby students: among them, first-year composition students; students with particular writing difficulties, including learning differences; senior scholars; students for whom English is not their first language; job and graduate school applicants; Watson Fellowship candidates, and many others. The Farnham Writers’ Center schedule includes both daytime and evening hours. A Macintosh is available for students at the center, which is located in Miller Library 9C.