Hampshire College

The Consortium for Innovative Environments in Learning (CIEL) is a growing network of distinguished, progressive higher education institutions that came about out of an initial grant awarded in 2001 by the U.S. Department of Education Fund for Improvement Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). The purpose of CIEL is to provide opportunities for faculty and students to collaborate with each other and exchange pedagogical and curricular practices with others from similar institutions. These “alternative” colleges share an educational philosophy that focuses on the individual, emphasizing student-centered, experiential, reflective, and interdisciplinary learning. The consortium has grown to include 13 colleges and universities:  Alverno College, Berea College, Daemen College, Evergreen State College, Fairhaven College of Western Washington University, Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University, Hampshire College, Johnson C. Smith University, Marlboro College, New Century College at George Mason University, New College of Florida, Pitzer College, and Prescott College. There are a wide range of networking, exchanges, research, and professional development opportunities for both students and faculty.  

Student Exchange

All regularly enrolled students at CIEL schools are eligible to study at other CIEL member schools for as much as one academic year while paying tuition at their home institutions. Other fees, such as housing and food plans, are determined by the host institution and must be paid accordingly. 

The exchanges offer students the opportunity to move for a time from a private to a public college or vice verse, experiencing vastly different campus cultures and different political and socio-economic milieus, living in a different geographical region, taking advantage of curricular opportunities and faculty expertise not present on the home campus, developing a rich comparative perspective. Please note that some high demand programs and/or member institutions may not be open to CIEL exchange students. Please visit the CIEL website for information about individual member schools. 

Hampshire students interested in this exchange program should contact the Global Education Office for more information: geo@hampshire.edu or 413.559.5542. 

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Each spring, CIEL holds an undergraduate research symposium at a CIEL member campus. The symposium is designed to provide students with rich opportunities for formal presentation and engagement with peers the practice of scholarship—to teach them about the academy’s role in knowledge-making by providing venues to engage in it actively. 

Faculty Opportunities

Faculty who participate in CIEL have the chance to talk with colleagues within their own institution and across institutions in unusually open and honest ways about their work. With steady encouragement to use this collaborative environment creatively, faculty have begun to explore creative ways to reach across institutional boundaries, to create research and teaching opportunities with new colleagues. Like students, faculty members have the opportunity to participate in an annual faculty/administrator’s symposium in the fall as well as to do an exchange. Faculty exchanges offer opportunities to learn firsthand about the teaching practices, programs, and institutional structures of other campuses and to engage in collaboration on research interests.

For more information regarding student and faculty opportunities through CIEL, please contact Steve Weisler, CIEL campus coordinator, or Katie Irwin in the Global Education Office. Additional information is also available on the CIEL website.

Steve Weisler
CIEL Campus Coordinator
Dean of Academic Development
413.559.5378
sweisler@hampshire.edu

Katie Irwin
Assistant Director of Campus Internationalization
413.559.5542
kirwin@hampshire.edu