Learning Communities
As a freshman, you have the opportunity to participate in one of four learning communities. These unique groups with common interests offer programs which allow you to study and socialize as part of a smaller community while still taking advantage of the intellectual and cultural diversity of the Institute as a whole. Some of the communities offer versions of the freshman Science Core subjects; all offer electives and provide opportunities for lasting contact with faculty, staff, and upperclass students.
The four learning communities are:
If you enroll in a learning community, please be sure to see the special registration instructions learning community members, for important information on how to register your classes this fall.
Concourse
Concourse is a first-year program sponsored by the School of Engineering. It is a small scholarly or learning community that provides a highly structured learning and teaching experience. Concourse is a tightly knit, supportive community; intense participation of freshmen, faculty, staff, and upperclassmen is expected. The program offers most of the first-year General Institute Requirements (GIRs) and uses the same textbooks, quizzes, and examinations as the mainstream curriculum.
This learning community provides a very thorough preparation for upperclass subjects. Concourse presents the freshman curriculum in a unified manner to enhance your mastery through experience and study. A dedicated, exceptionally talented and experienced faculty and small class size serve to create strong student-faculty and student-student ties. The program is designed for those of you interested in a highly integrated, structured approach to all of the core subjects. A high level of personal contact with and support by the faculty and fellow students is emphasized. Concourse's lounge is a favorite locale for spontaneous and planned pizza parties, breakfasts and other fun gatherings. Got the urge to cook for your peers? Concourse has a kitchen.
Additional information can be found at web.mit.edu/concourse.
Experimental Study Group (ESG)
Experimental Study Group (ESG) is a learning community that provides you with small classes, individual instruction, and independent study opportunities. You have the flexibility to move through classes at your own rate and to determine when to meet with instructors. Students who are highly motivated or who have unique academic backgrounds find the self-paced style of learning very challenging and rewarding. You may take all of your freshman courses within the ESG learning community, such as math, physics, chemistry, and biology, as well as several humanities and social science subjects and undergraduate seminars. Students are also welcome to take one or two subjects in the mainstream offerings.
In addition to 55 freshmen, the community includes 15 sophomores, 10 faculty and staff, and 20 undergraduate and graduate student tutors. Above and beyond the academic program, ESG sponsors weekly luncheons with guest speakers; trips to museums, plays and movies; hiking and skiing outings; and informal gatherings to study and socialize with others. The ESG facility is open 24 hours a day, and this community space is a great place for you to study or socialize.
See the ESG homepage, web.mit.edu/esg/www, for more information.
Terrascope
Terrascope is an integrated studies program in which the Earth System is used as a context for the first-year core subjects in math, physics, chemistry and biology. It is a small learning community in which you will be encouraged to explore how these core disciplines, as well as engineering and humanities, are applied to understanding the structure and evolution of our planet. General Institute Requirements (GIRS) will be met by attending mainstream core subjects with other first-year students.
In addition, you will enroll in Mission 2013 (also known as 12.000, Solving Complex Problems) in the fall semester and 1.016, Topics in Earth System Science and Engineering, in the spring. Both of these 9-unit subjects are designed for Terrascope students and will include faculty drawn from numerous departments, who will serve as your freshman advisors.
The topic for Mission 2013 has yet to be determined. However, past topics have included Exploration of Mars, Building a Deep Sea Research Station, the Amazon Rainforest, Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Preserve, Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, Tsunamis, and Rebuilding the Gulf Coast. See the Mission 2012 site to learn about the project under investigation by current freshmen. Guest speakers, field trips, and hands-on experiences supplement class work, and a network of tutors will be available. Terrascope-related IAP trips and UROP fellowships will be offered, as well as a menu of pre-orientation trips for which Terrascope students are given preference. Upon completion of Terrascope, selected students will become Terrascope Scholars, in a program that includes UROP fellowships and group activities that continue into the upperclass years as part of the educational component of the MIT Earth System Initiative.
Additional information can be found at http://web.mit.edu/terrascope/www/.
Media Arts and Sciences (MAS)
Media Arts and Sciences (MAS) offers a small group of first-year undergraduates the opportunity to pursue freshman subjects through a learning community. Emphasis is on research, both understanding how it is carried out and connecting current Media Laboratory research to core freshman subjects. You will be introduced to learning-by-apprenticeship that characterizes the MAS education mission. You will attend mainstream lectures in the core freshman subjects, but will attend recitation sections in chemistry and physics taught by MAS faculty. Again, the connection between subject matter and current Media Laboratory research is emphasized.
Students are encouraged to participate in one of several MAS Freshman Advising Seminars and must take two MAS subjects. The first is design-oriented. The second is an introduction to research protocol, data collection and presentation of results. Spring semester, students are strongly encouraged to participate in a UROP at the Media Laboratory. This program is intended for students who will pursue any undergraduate major at MIT.
See http://www.media.mit.edu/mas/fyo.html for additional information.
|
