Education with a Human Touch

A private residential college enrolling 1,950 students, Champlain fosters individual growth through an intensely personal educational experience:

• From long-time professors to exciting young practitioners, Champlain faculty share a passion for teaching and treasure their small classes.
• Students enjoy in-depth contact with their professors, who teach over lunch, mentor individual projects and take students for on-site work at conferences.
• Champlain’s Core curriculum begins with studying the self through the disciplines of history, philosophy, sociology and economics.
• In succeeding years, interdisciplinary study provides an overview of western civilization and its shaping influence on the world; a context for technology; and coursework that invites students to examine experiences in culture and place.
• In a capstone project, seniors integrate this interdisciplinary approach with the professional knowledge they’ve gained in their field—applying, on a very personal level, everything they have learned.
• In addition to academic advising regarding degree requirements and faculty advising, students receive ongoing professional career guidance which covers course selection and trends in the student’s field.
• Service opportunities, matched with each student’s heartfelt interests, educate participants about social issues and community resources.

How do you see yourself?

Samantha Snow and her quilt

During the first semester in college, students learn how to belong to a new community and to see themselves in a new way. Concepts of Self, the initial Core class, builds on—and contributes to—that process of discovery. At the end of the semester, students produce self-portraits, first studying a particular artist for inspiration, making a plan and explaining their choice of medium—from M&Ms to sketches, sound or collage. Some of the results:

• Inspired by Norman Rockwell’s triple self-portrait, one student created a three-dimensional box with pictures on all sides and inside representing different aspects of himself.
• Another freshman made a quilt of pictures she took of her family’s farm and pets, and quotes about what really matters to her.
• A third student took a digital picture of himself and, using Photoshop, overlaid it with text about how he fits into different groups and communities and the world.

Samantha Snow’s Quilt

“It definitely reflects me better than if I had made it at the beginning of the year. Everyone thinks they know who they are, but it isn’t until you read the psychological and scientific studies that you understand why you might have to work harder to do a math problem than to paint a portrait.”