Chesapeake Semester
About the Semester
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Each fall, the Chesapeake Semester will engage a select group of students in the interdisciplinary study of North America's largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay. Students will study the complex history, ecology, and culture of the Chesapeake as a microcosm of the challenges and transitions confronting coastal communities around the world. Using the College and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum as base camps, you will travel in, on and around the 64,000 square mile watershed.
This "signature semester" builds on the successful tradition of linking people and the environment in both the McLain Program in Environmental Studies and the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College. Connecting students to the land and water fosters a powerful sense of place and gives students a better understanding of the human and social dimensions of environmental issues. Students will have an opportunity to study the ecosystem in depth, develop solutions to environmental problems, and influence decision-making at the local and national levels.
This is a four-course program for 16 credits offered only in the fall. It combines intensive study, field work, and outdoor adventure. Students might band songbirds at sunrise, muck through the marsh, kayak on the river, research aquatic organisms, hike in the mountains and sleep beneath the stars, all in the same week. Classwork and day trips will be supplemented with four themed "voyages" away from campus, like the Ridge to Ocean tour. On the final voyage, participants will travel to the Gulf of California in Baja, Mexico, to explore a comparable estuary. Similarities and differences in culture, economics, politics, laws and ethics will be discussed.
The Chesapeake Semester requires a $3,950 program fee on top of standard enrollment fees. The program fee includes time on research vessels, museum entrance fees, airfare and other travel expenses; it does not include books and minor necessities. This fee covers less than half of the actual program costs, the balance of which is covered by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
A $500 non-refundable program deposit is due April 30, 2009. The balance is due by July 31, after which time unpaid slots may be released to students on a waiting list. For more information on costs and due dates, please see the Fees section under How to Apply.
Who Should Apply
The Chesapeake Semester is open to rising sophomores, juniors and seniors. A diverse range of students, with varying majors and interests, will create a dynamic learning environment. Advanced courses in environmental studies or ecology are not a prerequisite, nor is having experience in advanced literature or art courses. All students will be exposed to coursework that has never been offered before at Washington College. The artist and ecologist will be pushed equally out of his or her comfort zones. Note: Upon completion of the Chesapeake Semester, students will be just two courses away from fulfilling the requirements for a concentration in Chesapeake Regional Studies. Like the Chesapeake Semester, this concentration is designed to complement any major course of study.
For More Information
- Dr. John Seidel, Chesapeake Semester Director
- Michael Hardesty, Chesapeake Semester Program Manager