I go to a non-traditional college, Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. The college is heavily discussion and project-based, with a focus on building your own path, not so much about grades and tests. We are assessed on an evaluation pass/fail basis. With this being my background, it is understandable how a “traditional college” would be difficult to adjust to along with the fact that this traditional college was in a different hemisphere.
At Hampshire College, most of my studies were in the sciences, specifically animal behavior and animal science. This would come in handy as my program abroad was at University of Newcastle, a very STEM-heavy college. My solely science-based course was Ecology and Management of Wildlife. In this course we broke into small groups to work on a semester-long project. During the class period we meet with these groups and work on a recovery plan for a species of our choice. Recovery plans are what are put in place to provide protections to an endangered species and contain many components including a species ecology, legislation and stakeholders, and socioeconomic factors affecting the species and decision making around said species. Though it was an incredibly long class, being put in a good group made it easy for us to accomplish what we needed to and made time pass quickly.
My other science-related course was Environmental Legislation and Planning. This was very much a legal class which was not what I fully anticipated when signing up, however this was a good thing since my goal is to go to law school after college. This course however, was brutal. The 8 a.m. class was a very long lecture which is something I was not used to. The professor lectured for two straight hours and we just sit there trying to take it all in. This is a traditional structure however it was alien to me. After the lecture we have what is called a tutorial for the class. During this time we work on our major assignment for the semester and ask questions based on the lecture.
My third class is World Religions. This course is one I have always wanted to take and is another lecture type though we have a little more freedom with discussions. Each week we look at one religion or one religious leader and analyze it/them. We look into special artifacts from each religion and even do virtual tours of sacred locations.
This course is more on the speed of what I am used to at Hampshire. It is mainly discussion based. Halfway through the class we get on a Zoom call with the Waikato school in New Zealand and have a discussion with them as they are studying a similar course. Through this we get a look into aboriginal (indigenous) like in New Zealand. There is never a dull moment thanks not only to the great group of students but also thanks to the exceptional professor who knows how to guide a conversation and let the students manage it themselves.
My final course was also a late addition; Aboriginal Cultural Immersion. Being from the U.S. I knew nothing about aboriginal culture. I didn't even know this term existed until I got to Australia. The course is taught in a very participatory way. We take part in the aspects we are learning about. For example, song and dance week, we not only learned about these traditions but sang the songs and danced a dance. For art week, we learned traditional weaving with the traditional materials. This is a great way not only to learn about the culture but to get a deeper understanding through action which helps solidify these aspects in your mind.
At the end of the semester there is a two week exam period like any traditional college. From the perspective of a student from a non-traditional college the style of education is vastly different and has caused me to adjust my study habits to match.
Story and photos by Ky Connal-Nicolaou
Hampshire College student & Semester in Newcastle alum