Marine Biology at The Evergreen State College
Are you a passionately independent thinker? If so, The Professor has news that will pique your interest.
Here in Olympia, Washington, The Evergreen State College issues no grades and has no course-of-study requirements. It’s a place where community-minded, independent spirits excel.
Instead of majors, Evergreen has “areas of emphasis.” Students choose a traditional area of study (such as psychology or history) or tailor their own degrees. Examples of student-designed courses include Media and Culture, Social Justice, and Somatic and Consciousness Studies.
Architecture at Woodbury University
The Professor is starry-eyed in Los Angeles, and it’s not just because of the Hollywood glamor. This pulsing conglomerate of dozens of cities and suburbs is characterized by every style of food, fashion, art, and music The Professor can imagine. And the region is a veritable 35,000-square-mile museum of architectural styles.
Drive around the Southland and you’ll see building styles such as Folk Victorian, Beaux Arts, Craftsman, Cottage, Mission Revival, Neoclassical, Spanish Colonial, Bungalow, Egyptian Revival, English and Tudor Revival, Art Deco, Modern, Contemporary, Postwar, Ranch, and many more. Not to mention styles with eclectic names such as Dingbat and Googie, and buildings shaped like a donut, a hot dog, or a gleaming silver abstraction.
In such a stylistically diverse urban area, it seems fitting that students in Woodbury University’s Bachelor of Architecture program learn about architecture from all angles. They study architectural practice, technique, theory, technology, and policy. As explained on the School of Architecture‘s web site, “Graduates don’t just learn to design buildings. They learn to effect positive change in the built environment, to tackle theoretical debates, and to take on architecture as a critical practice.”
Woodbury has two campuses: a grassy oasis replete with palm trees in Burbank, and an urban warehouse in San Diego‘s Barrio Logan district. At both locations, there’s a strong emphasis on leadership and creativity.
The architecture degree program is rigorous, requiring 160 semester hours over five years, as well as 300 hours of work experience. Woodbury’s architecture students are expected to produce innovative, high-quality models, prototypes, and designs. To help make this possible, each campus has a digital fabrication laboratory outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment such as 3D printers, CNC mills, and laser cutters. Facilities also include a library of building materials, the WUHO gallery, and wood and metal shops.
While Southern California is indeed rich in visual resources, Woodbury students also know there is a vibrant world to explore. With that in mind, the university offers semester-long study-away programs in Buenos Aires and Rome; summer programs in Spain, Germany, China, India, Tahiti, Latin America, and the American Southwest; and exchange programs with South Korea and Germany.
The Career Development & Alumni Center offers career planning and job-finding assistance for students and graduates, who often place in design competitions and scholarship awards, go on to elite graduate schools, and work in all areas of architecture, planning, and design.
Woodbury admits about 75% of applicants, has about 1,500 students, and its 10-to-1 student-faculty ratio allows for a lot of individualized attention. Incoming architecture students must submit portfolios and are expected to be prepared for college algebra and college-level writing courses. Woodbury has several academic and cultural clubs, as well as fraternities and sororities, but does not have a sports program.
The university offers 16 additional undergraduate programs in fields such as business, media, design, and interdisciplinary studies. Woodbury ranked 48th on US News & World Report‘s Best Colleges list.
To learn more about Woodbury University’s application requirements and deadlines for architecture and other programs, please visit www.woodbury.edu.
Music Therapy at Wartburg College
Love music? Love helping people? Did you know that with a career in music therapy you can combine those interests?
Music therapists work with people who have physical, mental, or developmental disabilities. They use music — including singing, playing instruments, composing, or listening — in therapy and rehabilitation. For example, listening to music can encourage a child with autism to make eye contact; singing along with an old song can help Alzheimer’s patients trigger memories from the past; and composing can aid chemical dependency patients in their recoveries.
The Music Department at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, offers a Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy. The degree requires classes in music (including instruments, voice, conducting, and theory) and psychology. Students also gain experience working with therapy clients in two 30-hour practicums.
Cinematography and Film at Vanderbilt University
Reporting from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, the first thing The Professor has to say to film buffs and aspiring directors is, “Lights! Camera! Action!”
Here at “Vandy,” the College of Arts and Science offers both a major and a minor in Film Studies and encourages the study of film from all angles. There’s instruction in film history and theory, hands-on practice in skills and techniques, and a wide range of extracurricular activities and opportunities, both on campus and off.
Scholars, movie critics, and filmmakers often visit. A series called International Lens screens foreign films on campus. Another series, FLiCX (Faculty-Led interactive Cinematic eXplorations), screens foreign, independent, and classic films followed by professor-led discussions at Nashville’s historic Belcourt Theatre. Film students also stay up to date on new films at the Nashville Film Festival, one of the nation’s oldest-running film festivals.
The faculty encourages film students to create work outside of the classroom and to submit senior projects to academic journals, film festivals, and conferences. Click here to view recent student films. Students also compete in the annual Vanderbilt Student Film Festival, featuring films up to 10 minutes long in all genres, and the related 10 Second Film Festival.
For even more hands-on experience in the film business, the Vandy-in-Hollywood Summer Internship Program places students at networks, studios, agencies, film distributors, and production companies in Los Angeles. Lifetime Networks, FX, Lionsgate, and Miramax are just a few of the many places where students have interned recently.
Vanderbilt film graduates pursue careers in fields such as film and media production, communications, academic media studies, and community and social relations.
Vanderbilt has about 13,000 students and is a top-ranking research university featured in US News & World Report’s Top 20 and Kiplinger’s Best Values in Private Colleges.
Admissions are competitive but “need-blind.” That means applicants are considered on merit alone, regardless of financial status.
Surrounding the university, Nashville — where students have access to just about any kind of music, sports, and culture they can think of — is a city of 600,000, one of the largest that consistently ranks on best-college-town lists. The Professor found Vandy’s gorgeous campus, a 330-acre oasis of architectural treasures, an ideal place to relax after a long day of experiencing the city.
For students new to this bustling region, one treasure trove of information about where to go in Nashville and how to get there is the Admissions Department’s blog. That’s where The Professor learned, for example, that Vanderbilt students aren’t allowed to bring cars to school during freshman year, but that all Vanderbilt students ride Nashville busses for free.
To learn more about Vanderbilt University’s application requirements and deadlines for Film Studies and other programs, please visit www.vanderbilt.edu.
Music Business at Belmont University
The Professor knew Nashville was nicknamed “Music City,” and after a lively visit to Belmont University, he sees why. There are performance halls, studios, and clubs all over campus and all over town. Talented musicians perform country, opera, symphony, and just about every other genre you can imagine. No wonder Belmont offers three different degrees in Music Business. In fact, it has the only Music Business program in the world that’s accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business AACSB. Graduates have worked as sound engineers and producers, or pursued one of dozens of other music-industry careers. (Country recording artists Brad Paisley and Trisha Yearwood are alumni!)
With about 6,900 students (up from about 3,000 in 2000) Belmont is a fast-growing, Christian-based college. The school’s Christian ethic fuels an active Service Learning program. Students from each of the 80-plus fields of study volunteer for community projects related to their majors. For example, English and education majors tutor schoolchildren, and nursing students help with projects such as community health fairs. For Music Business students, there’s the Service Corps, the largest student organization on campus, which places student volunteers inside the music industry.
Belmont also attracts students of many different faiths from every state and 25 countries. With all this diversity, The Professor noticed that everyone here seems to have faith in music! The Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music offers intensive training in songwriting, audio engineering, and hundreds of other music-business details. The Curb College also helps students connect the wider world of music and entertainment through the CURB College News Page. It’s updated frequently with things such as discounts to live shows, calls for music-TV extras, and industry jobs for students.
Belmont’s thriving music community also includes the School of Music, several music organizations, and three recording studios. If that’s all music to your ears, The Professor recommends a glance at the Music Facilities page. It highlights Belmont’s impressive range of venues, from the intimate, ornate Belmont Mansion to the 1,000-seat, state-of-the-art Massey Performing Arts Center.
The crown jewel of Belmont’s venues is the Curb Event Center, a 90,000 square foot sports and entertainment complex. It has hosted the likes of Maya Angelou, the nationally televised CMT Music Awards, and one of the 2008 presidential debates.
With such a flourishing performance culture and so many entertainment hot spots, you might wonder if Belmont students have much time left for academics. They do, in fact. Belmont was included in the 2014 listing of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report. To learn more about Belmont University’s application requirements and deadlines for Music Business and other programs, please visit www.belmont.edu.
