
Boundaries are boring.*
Most of the students at Marlboro are interested in lots of things, and those don’t always fit into one box with a single name like “psychology.”
So instead of locking yourself into a single major track, at Marlboro you can study exactly what you’re interested in. Maybe that combines psychology and mathematics. Or zoology and creative writing. Or ethnography and dance.
Unconventional approach
You’ll start by exploring courses across the curriculum. By the end of the first three semesters, the only requirement we expect of you is the proven ability to write clearly and effectively.
In years three and four, the focus turns to self-directed learning and deep partnerships with faculty. You’ll have the opportunity to create intensive classes called tutorials and do independent research. It all builds toward a major project: the Plan of Concentration.
By graduation, you will have mastered the art of writing well, learned to collaborate with others, and led an ambitious project from idea to reality. These skills are critical to success in any field, and we guarantee you’ll graduate with them. We call that the Marlboro Promise.
Learn as much outside the classroom as in it
Most students get off campus at least once during their time here. That could be formally through study abroad, a semester exchange with another college, or through a six-to-eight month international internship as part of our World Studies Program. It could also mean grant-funded independent research locally or globally.
Opportunities for internships, volunteer positions, and jobs in your field of interest will contribute to your education as well as build your resumé.
Innovative graduate programs
Graduate school at Marlboro combines the academic intensity of the undergraduate curriculum with professional skills and practical experience. Small groups work together and learn from local leaders in business, nonprofits, education, and advocacy.
Marlboro undergrads have the chance to enter the graduate school through our Accelerated Master’s Track, while working professionals can sample the curriculum in continuing education classes.
* Unless you’re studying the boundaries themselves, of course. Why do they exist? Who put them there? Marlboro students might not respect boundaries, but we pay close attention to intersections.
Study broadly, think deeply
- The library's John Kenneth Galbraith collection was donated by the famous economist's family and is organized, paradoxically, by color.
- Creative writing professor Bronwen Tate works with students to find their voice in the wilderness.
- Visual Arts professor Amy Beecher shares new horizons in seeing and expressing meaning.
- Classrooms are discussion-based, so everyone has an opportunity to explore their thoughts.
- The ceramics studio provides students a respite from reading and writing to express themselves with their hands.
Academic news
Faculty stories
Rosario de Swanson Writes “Literature as Resistance”
First post in the series, which appears on the MassHumanities blog The Public Humanist, is on Mexican feminist Rosario Castellanos.Brad Heck ’04 Awarded Thriving Communities Project Grant
A faculty member in film/video studies, Brad will create a virtual tour of Vermont landscapes affected by climate change.
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