College of the Atlantic

students are required to take an introductory course in human ecology. Other requirements include two courses in each focus area (Environmental Studies, Arts and Design, Human Studies), one quantitative reasoning course, one history course, and one course that involves extensive writing. The intention is for students to explore and integrate ideas from different disciplines and to construct their own understanding of human ecology. With its focus on interdisciplinary learning, College of the Atlantic does not have distinct departments, and all faculty members consider themselves human ecologists in addition to their formal specialization.
As a graduation requirement, all students must complete a term-long senior project and a human ecology essay in their final year, in addition to a mandatory internship sometime within their four years. For this senior project, students decide the methods and content which are then submitted for approval by their academic advisors. Projects are diverse and have included computer …