Moving from Division I to Division II

Overview: Students must complete the Division I requirements and have final pass meetings with their Division I advisor. They create their Division II committees through a request process and file their Division II contracts with their committees.

To Pass Division I

  • Complete seven evaluated courses, including the Division I Seminar.
  • Complete the Division I community-engaged learning requirement (CEL-1)  with reflective essay documented on TheHub. CEL-1 engages students with the campus community.
  • Complete a Division I retrospective essay, submitted on TheHub.
  • Submit a portfolio of their work to their advisor.
  • Have a final meeting with their Division I advisor.

To File Division II

  • The Committee Request Process: During the third semester of enrollment, students meet with potential faculty committee members to discuss their ideas. Students complete a committee request form (located on the Division II tab on TheHub), that includes a statement about their goals and objectives for Division II, and a list of faculty with whom they are interested in working. Faculty not requested can add themselves to the form if they know that they would be helpful.  Completed forms are reviewed by faculty and deans to assign the appropriate committees.
  • Once students have an assigned committee, they can complete the Division II filing process (located on the Division II tab on TheHub). They complete their drafts after making any suggested revisions by their committees and make it ready for signatures. The contract may be revised as students' ideas develop and change throughout Division II.
  • The deadline for  filing Division II to graduate in four years is early in the fourth semester of enrollment. Students must complete their Division II contracts and have their chairs and members sign on to it on TheHub by the deadline.
  • The complete Division II procedures can be found in the Student Handbook.

Division II Basics

  • Division II is a four semester process, with three semesters filed in the concentration. It includes work in the concentration and additional studies.
  • Work in the concentration can include courses, field study in the U.S. or abroad, exchange programs, and special projects, which are robust supervised or mentored learning experiences that students have at or away from Hampshire with organizations (such as schools, labs companies, or nonprofit organizations) or with community groups.
  • Division II is negotiated between the students and their two-person faculty committees: one chairperson and one member.
  • The committee chair is the academic advisor.
  • In addition to the concentration, students complete:
    •  Race and Power requirement:
      • Non-western perspectives
      • Race in the United States
      • How knowledge and power relate to these
    • The Community Engaged Learning (CEL-2), which differs from CEL-1 in that it does not have to take place on campus. Most students engage with the broader community in Division II.
  • Division II work is documented in a portfolio with an integrative, retrospective essay.


Good resources for learning more about Division II, checking the rules, and finding faculty member to serve on your committee are: