The Contract System
One unique trait I love about Evergreen is the contracts. For a student, contracts are awesome! Get this: If there is something you want to study, something you are itching to learn about and there are no programs about that subject being offered, you are allowed to design your own program for yourself in order to learn more about that subject you are interested in. Pretty sweet deal, if you ask me.
But a lot of people (mostly non-Greeners) do not understand the entire concept of a contract. So I am here to explain a bit about them, and give you an inside scoop on my experience with contracts.
First, it is important to understand that there are two types of contracts a student can do. There is an Internship Contract for students who are taking part in an internship, and then there is an Individual Leaning Contract for students who would just like to study and learn about a subject.
So far I have done two contracts during my three years at Evergreen, and I’m about to take part in an Internship Contract with the Walt Disney Company. The first contract I did was an Individual Learning Contract about literature. It was a full 16-credits and I designed it so that I was reading a new piece of classic literature a week. I read from various different literature subjects. I read everything from “Sophie’s Choice” to “Catcher and the Rye”. It was a very cool thing to do, because it was a time where I could read what I have always wanted to read, and I was getting credit for it. I kept a journal of my readings and jotted down notes about each book. At the end of the quarter I wrote a 10-page paper comparing themes and characters.
My second contract was over this summer. It was a 4-credit Individual Learning Contract on Geology of Yellowstone. So last spring my parents were planning a trip to visit Yellowstone National Park. I decided to go with them since I love nature and I love learning about natural wonders. Before the spring quarter ended I found out that a geology faculty member was taking on geology contracts for people who were traveling this summer. Perfect! I talked to him about a geology contract about the Yellowstone area, focusing on the Yellowstone Caldera, and “bam”, I had myself another contract. For this one I spent a week at the Park and took extensive notes and read books about the area. Then I came home and wrote another 10-page paper on the geology of Yellowstone.
Both of these contracts were great for me because I needed those specific credits for a teaching certificate. But also I found both subject fascinating, and there really wasn’t anything being offered at the school on those subjects at the time. It was such a great solution for me.
I highly recommend taking part in a contract or two during your time at Evergreen because they are so enriching. A contract is for a person who is ready and willing to take their education completely in their own hands. How many of my friends back home can say that they got to design their own curriculum while in college? If you do deicide to go to Evergreen, allow yourself some time to do a contract at some point!
If you would like to learn more here is the academic advising link to contracts:
http://www.evergreen.edu/advising/Indiestudy/individualstudy.htm
Here are some pictures from my geology contract.
This is a hot spring close to Norris Geyser basin.
I thought this was a cool picture I took while at Yellowstone. It is of a rock in the middle of a river with a small tree growing out of it.
That's me behind a waterfall at Yellowstone National Park.