Work of the Program

The low residency BA in Health Arts and Sciences Program: Bridging Nature, Culture and Healing is a progressive haven for learning within a supportive community of peers and advisors. Experiential learning in the program integrates rigorous scholarship with direct action and rich contemplation. Students build their study plans within eight-day residencies and then carry out their learning plans within their communities. They document their learning through five packets sent to their advisors over the course of each 15-week semester. Packets includes materials such as reflective, critical or creative writing, journal passages, creative artwork, audio-visual materials, and other means of documentation and reflection. Internships or apprenticeships may also be integrated into students’ study plans to augment or deepen fields of inquiry.

Experiential studies pursued within the low residency BA in Health Arts and Sciences program might include teaching classes, developing health curricula, or engaging in outreach efforts in such places as holistic centers, public schools, youth programs, hospitals, and natural world environments. Some students develop web sites, publish books or articles, or begin organizations. At the culmination of their course of study, students synthesize their work in a final project that may take the form of a community outreach project or encompass traditional scholarship, depending on the interests of the student.