CIEL | Domestic Exchange Program

The Consortium for Innovative Environments in Learning (CIEL) is a partnership for advancing innovation in student learning.

Program Details

Location: Throughout North America (U.S.A. and Canada)

Term: Fall semester, spring semester

Type of Program: Full time university enrollment

Language of Instruction: English

Fields of Study: Unlimited! Options across the arts, humanities, business and STEM fields; varies by host institution

Prerequisites: Varies by host institution

About CIEL

Hampshire College is a founding member of the Consortium for Innovative Environments in Learning (CIEL). Founded in 2000, the CIEL network includes a number of distinguished, progressive higher education institutions in the United States or Canada. These "alternative" colleges share an educational philosophy that focuses on the individual, emphasizing student-centered, experiential, reflective, and interdisciplinary learning.  A number of student and faculty initiatives including research and exchanges are open to member institutions. 

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 versa, experiencing vastly different campus cultures and different political and socio-economic milieus; living in a different geographical region; and taking advantage of curricular opportunities and faculty expertise not present on the home campus, developing a rich comparative perspective.

Please Note: Some high-demand programs and/or member institutions may not be open to CIEL exchange students. Contact the global education office before applying to see if the school you're interested in is open to exchange.

Member Schools

Please visit the websites of the individual schools for more information about the academic program offerings and exchange possibilities. Please contact the global education office CIEL program advisor for CIEL contacts for each school.

Bennington College; Bennington, Vermont

Evergreen State College; Olympia, Washington

Johnston Center for Integrative Studies at the University of Redlands; Redlands, California

New College /College of the Arts & Sciences at the University of Alabama; Tuscaloosa, Alabama

New College of Florida; Sarasota, Florida

Prescott College; Prescott, Arizona

Quest University Canada; Squamish, BC, Canada

School of Individualized Study (SOIS) at Rochester Institute of Technology; Rochester, New York

Western Washington University;  Bellingham, Washington

Program Costs

Hampshire Exchange Fees and Financial Aid provides detailed information on the fee policy, withdrawal policy and how financial aid may apply.

  • Tuition Fees: paid to Hampshire
  • Housing and Meals Fees: paid to CIEL host institution
  • Other expenses: Students are responsible for the cost of passport and visa fees; local transportation, including airfare; books and supplies; health insurance; and personal expenses.

Eligibility

The Hampshire Exchange program with CIEL institutions is open to division II Hampshire College students.

Review detailed information on eligibility requirements and policies in the Hampshire College Handbook under Exchange, Field Study, and Short-term Field Courses.

How to Apply

  1. Meet with the GEO: Students are required to meet with the GEO program manager for this exchange program before submitting an application. 
  2. Review Applying to a Hampshire Exchange Program: Includes deadlines, application instructions, requirements, and procedures.
  3. Apply now: Students apply online through the GEO Portal.

Questions?

Contact the GEO program manager:

Allison Kretschmar
413.559.5542
akGEO@hampshire.edu

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 in the practice of scholarship, and 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 institutions 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 and 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 Yaniris Fernandez, CIEL campus coordinator. Additional information is also available on the CIEL website.

Yaniris Fernandez
Associate Dean of Faculty
413.559.5378
ymfPR@hampshire.edu