Current Year's Catalog 2005-06

Undergraduate Studies

Evening and Weekend Studies

Evening and Weekend Class Listing

Summer Studies

Summer Class Listing

Graduate Studies

Master of Environmental Studies

Master of Public Administration

Master in Teaching

About Programs for Freshmen

First-year students have several options: Core programs, all-level programs and some intermediate programs.

Core programs are designed to give you a solid foundation of knowledge and skills to prepare you for advanced studies: to learn how to write more effectively, read carefully, analyze arguments, reason quantitatively or mathematically, work cooperatively in small groups and use campus resources such as the library. Core programs will introduce you to Evergreen's interdisciplinary studies, in which faculty members from different disciplines teach together to help you explore a central theme or topic and issue as a whole, rather than a collection of unrelated fragments. You will be exposed to the connection of artistic expression to social conditions, for example, or the relationship of biological facts to individual psychology. These integrated study programs combine several activities: seminars, individual conferences with faculty members, lectures, group work and, usually, field trips and laboratories. You will also learn the skills needed to design your own education.

The small student-faculty ratio in Core programs (23:1) ensures close interaction between you and your faculty, and with other students.

All-level programs enroll a mix of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors, with a typical mix of 25 percent first-year students. As in Core programs, they are interdisciplinary studies. Most students in these programs will already have some years of college experience, so you will get less guidance about basic skills. Faculty expectations about what you know and what you can learn on your own will be greater. You should also be ready to work with a wide mix of students in age, experience and stages of learning. Talk to Academic Advising about the background necessary to be in an all-level program.

Intermediate programs are designed for sophomore students and are listed elsewhere in the catalog. These programs may admit a particularly well-qualified first-year student. Consult the faculty and Academic Advising if you are interested in an intermediate program.