Posts tagged Bennington

I asked my friend Sara Green to answer this one — she’s an expert.
-Alan ‘15

Hey! It’s really neither. Instead what you have is sort of an awkwardness when questions or comments about race are brought up. My experience has been that people would rather not talk about race- students of color and white students alike. Alas, hope is alive! Recently, there has been a small group of students that is creating spaces to talk about race in academic and student-led spaces. I could talk forever about race at Bennington. Email me if you want to keep talking; there are a lot of intricacies in the conversation. (sgreen@bennington.edu)

Bennington doesn’t offer majors, much less double ones. Because of the ‘plan process’, each student develops their own unique program, as it were, specific to his or her own interests. A lot of times these are questions that can be explored through multiple disciplines; its like looking at the same thing through two different vantage points. Other students choose to do something that might be more similar to a ‘double major’ — they right their plan in two different disciplines and choose to keep them separate. If you are worried that you won’t be able to explore all your interests, don’t be. The freedom we have here, in my experience, prevents us from getting too boxed in. (The best way to understand the plan is through examples — check these out)

-Alan ‘15 

Don’t worry! If it still hasn’t come through in a couple of days I recommend shooting your councilor an email or giving the office a call: 800-833-6845. You’ll have plenty of time to fill everything out. In the meantime… 

-Selina ‘15

Just this online link.

-Selina ‘15

I’ll be around this summer and that sounds like a great project! I’ll keep you updated. Glennis will also be around and since she studies design I bet we could come up with something good. 

Looking forward to it!

-Selina ‘15 

Every Bennington student has a Greenwall story. It’s the registration event that takes place in Greenwall Auditorium where you can add or drop classes for the upcoming term. It can be stressful but if you just take a deep breath and realize that your life doesn’t depend on securing the perfect schedule you’ll be fine. Teachers are very reasonable and if there’s a class you really want you can always get on the wait list and keep showing up until they let you in. Michael’s looking nervous but really don’t freak out!

-Selina and Michael ‘15

Bennington approaches education from a different foundation than what you’d typically find in a major/minor system. Here’s a great explanation of Bennington’s divergence from that system.

After checking in with a resident Anthropology professor here, the social science skills you acquire at Bennington could be utilized through a couple different dimensions. Firstly, studying social science hones your critical thinking skills, which are especially relevant to life in a post modern world. More concretely, you could pursue a career in the NGO/non-profit sector, civil society, international relations, or academia among other things. Typically after getting a BA social science students go onto grad school though many work for a couple years beforehand.

-Michael and Selina ‘15

That really depends. In my experience my advisor has pushed me to pursue FWTs related to my plan and areas of concentration. However, if you found a position that really peaked your interest chances are you can relate in some way to what you’re studying, even if the connection isn’t super explicit. Below are some photos of the globe outside the FWT office with colored dots indicating FWT sites. Big cities like New York always clock in with the 100+ count!

-Selina ‘15

First, there is no film program here, there are no programs here at all for any subject, we simply have two faculty members who teach film (both named Kate), one technician (not named Kate), some great film classes, a studio, and lots of equipment to check out. From those resources you get to build your own film education. 

Film, like all areas of study at Bennington, requires you to jump right in and, after a short tutorial on the equipment, start making! You will learn techniques and other technical information as you make the films so that the learning is meaningful. The coolest thing about film to me is that it is the beautiful empty container that you get to fill with whatever fascinates you. Of course you also have four Field Work Terms in which you can get experience with different aspects of film outside of Bennington. 

Check out this great interview with Justine, a senior, who made a film for her senior work. She studies French and when it came time for her to propose her senior thesis she found a story she had to tell. It is premiering Saturday on campus and I am really looking forward to seeing it. 

Email me if you have more questions or want to talk further about this. glennish@bennington.edu

-Glennis

Off the top of my head, I don’t know how many Bennington alums have studied at Gallatin specifically, but I think it would be highly unlikely that none of them have. On our list of top 10 graduate schools that Bennington alumni have attended, NYU is second! The mission of Gallatin, which is to allow students to create an individualized program of study, is also really compatible with Bennington’s academic philosophy. My guess is that it would be a popular choice among Bennington grads. 

If you have any other questions about life post Bennington, Eissa Saeed (who is a recent Bennington grad himself!) is a great resource in our Alumni Relations office. You can shoot him an email at esaeed@bennington.edu. 

- Julia ‘15

Also - I was accepted to the Draper Program at NYU, which is another program with an interdisciplinary, self-designed curriculum. I believe that going to Bennington and experiencing the Plan Process really helped me to demonstrate a clear understanding of the program, and an ability to fit in and thrive there. 

~ Holly C. ‘13