Winter term offers both students and faculty unique opportunities for study and learning. Each student may enroll in only one academic, credit-bearing course; each instructor teaches only one course. Students may study at the College or away from campus, independently or as participants in a course, in their major fields or in disciplines they have never studied before. The winter term curriculum consists of a variety of courses, both interdepartmental and departmental, at various levels, from beginning to advanced. A student also has the opportunity to undertake a winter internship instead of formal study.
Normally, a department may require its students to take no more than one of its winter term courses, in addition to winter term senior work, during four years. Students are urged to take winter term courses in substantially different areas in their first two years. A minimum of two and a maximum of four winter term courses will count toward the graduation requirement of 36 credits.
2010 Winter Term Catalog Classes
All courses meet a minimum of eight contact hours per week, and many courses require additional hours. This winter term will begin on Monday, January 4, 2010. Due to the brevity of the term, it is imperative that each student attend the first class and all classes. A student who misses the first class of winter term must have an excuse from their Commons Dean or it will be assumed that the student has dropped the course.
Winter Term Grading System
Winter term courses normally are graded A through F. Some courses, because of their special nature, are graded on a Honors/Pass/Fail basis but must first be approved by the Curriculum Committee. The same grading system applies to all students taking a particular course for credit. Internships are graded Credit/No Credit. The faculty supervisor of an independent project shall propose, after consultation with the student, whether the project is to be graded on an A-F basis or on an Honors/Pass/Fail basis, although projects that result in a product which can be graded using the A-F system are normally graded that way.
All winter term course work must be completed by the end of the winter session. Grades of Incomplete will be submitted according to existing procedures, and such work must be satisfactorily completed by the end of the following spring semester.
Students who receive grades of D, F, Fail, or No Credit in winter term courses or independent projects are placed on probation. Students who receive an F, Fail, or No Credit may need to make up the course credit, but not necessarily during a winter term.
Theses, honors projects, and other work undertaken or completed during winter term as part of a larger project will be graded under the regular A-F grading system, the grade to be based upon an evaluation of the completed project as a whole.
Winter Term Independent Study
Students with 8 or more credits may submit a proposal to their faculty sponsor for on or off-campus winter term independent work either as a continuation of their major or minor or as work outside of their major or minor as long as:
- You have not completed more than two units of winter term independent work; and
- You have received the approval of the chair or director of that department or program in which the work will be completed.
Students are not allowed to pursue independent work during their first winter term.
How to Apply: Contact the department chair/director of the department or program in which the work will be done to request their guidelines.
Deadline: Applications for independent study were due to faculty sponsors by October 23, 2009.
Winter Term Internships
Winter term internships are designed to involve significant high-level exposure to the fundamental work of an established profession. Internship information is available through the Career Services Office, which is responsible for determining whether the proposed internship is of sufficient scope to be of value and to assess the results of the internship experience. The Career Services Office works in conjunction with the Curriculum Committee on winter term internships. The student must provide written confirmation of the project from an on-site supervisor who is willing to write an assessment of the student's work as an intern. Students in approved winter term internships spend a minimum of 25 hours per week at their internship site. At the end of the internship, the student, the on-campus academic sponsor, and the on-site work supervisor must submit evaluation reports to the winter term internship coordinator.
Internships are graded Credit/No Credit. First-year students may not undertake internships, and students who take more than one internship in four years should elect them in substantially different fields. A student may not repeat the same winter term internship for credit. Students who participate in winter term internships are not eligible for financial reimbursement for the internship. A relative may not function as internship supervisor. If the internship is to be taken in a foreign country, the committee will expect competence in the language of the country. Information on internships is available from the Career Services Office. Applications for internships were due October 23, 2009.
Off-Campus Winter Term Courses
No student may undertake off-campus winter term study during their first year at the College. This includes both February 2009 and September 2009 matriculants. Once a student has enrolled in an off-campus winter term course, they may not drop the course except in the case of an extreme family emergency.
Off Campus Financial Aid
Financial aid is NOT available for internships, independent projects, or any off-campus trips.
Auditing
The faculty encourages students to audit winter term courses. Prior permission of the instructor is required for any audit. To obtain "official audit" status, in which case the course will be recorded on the student's transcript, the student must make a request to the instructor, and the student and instructor must agree in writing on conditions for satisfactory completion of the audit. These students must register via Add Card for this formal Audit status. There is no credit for any form of auditing; students cannot audit a winter term course unless s/he is also enrolled in another academic credit-bearing course.
Introductory Language Programs
Students enrolled in a fall semester 0101 language course who plan to continue in the spring must register for the winter term language course if that language has one.
Distribution Requirement Credit
Winter term courses that may be used to satisfy academic categories and the cultures and civilizations requirement are so indicated in the course description.
Physical Education (PHED) Classes
Students may enroll in PHED classes during winter term to satisfy the PE requirement, but they must also be enrolled in a credit-bearing academic course. Click on http://www.middlebury.edu/athletics/peinfo.htm for information on PHED offerings.
Board Rebates
Winter term board rebates have been discontinued by the Student Financial Services Office.
Approval Required Coursese
To register for any of the following courses, you must first get the approval of the instructor. Even with prior approval, you must still register in Banner during the registration period. The deadline to apply for an approval-required course is Friday, October 30, 2009.
ART 1020 Art on the Land
DANC 0381 Dance Company of Middlebury
EDST 0337 The New York City Urban Education Internship
ENAM 0380 Workshop: Nonfiction
FMMC/ENVS 1019 Sustainable TV: Producing Environmental Media
HARC 1004 Collecting Contemporary Photography
INTD 1089 Middlebury Entrepreneurs
INTD 1098 Solar Decathlon 2011–Schematic Design
INTD 1099 Engineering for a Solar Powered House
MUSC 1013 The Contemporary Musical in Performance
STLD 1003 The New Deal: Applied Policy Making
STLD 1004 Food Justice in Vermont
THEA 1013 Lovesong of the Electric Bear - Production
College Writing Program
After successful completion of a first-year seminar and before the end of the fourth semester at Middlebury, every student must elect a second writing-intensive course. These courses will include regular writing assignments that emphasize further development of the writing skills introduced in the first-year student seminars. The following courses offered during the January 2010 winter term will fulfill the college writing (CW) requirement.
Writing Program Courses
AMST 1003 Cultural Studies of Sports (CW)
ENAM 0103 Reading Literature (CW)
ENVS/WRPR 1014 Class and the Environment: The Struggle for Ecological Democracy (CW)
FMMC 1010 Creating an Original Television Series (CW)
HIST 1002 The Burning Times: Heresy & Inquisition (CW)
HIST 1009 East India Company (CW)
PSCI 1020 American Power: Use and Abuse (CW)
THEA/ENAM 1020 Performing Others: Writing and Staging the Solo Show (CW)
WRPR/WAGS 0201 Writing For Social Change (CW)