<p>Hi everyone. We really appreciate all of the helpful and informative responses on this forum. My daughter is 99% sure she will be attending Bryn Mawr, but she is going to attend the open campus to make sure. Does anyone know about the 360 program? It was mentioned in some literature we received from Bryn Mawr, but I’m wondering how the program works? It says one takes several classes in a cluster with a cohort of students throughout the semester - are these half-semester courses, do you have to apply to the program, and how many of these clusters are there? Thanks again for all the advice.</p>
<p>The 360˚ program was pioneered last year, so everything is still very experimental. I don’t know anything about the program beyond what is stated in various college publications - maybe the links below will answer some of your questions. Since the program is still in its infancy and not meant for freshmen (who should be working on gen ed requirements and finding a major), it might be too early to invest much effort into researching the current details. They might change quite a bit over the next few years!</p>
<p>[Bryn</a> Mawr College: 2010-2011 Catalog](<a href=“http://www.brynmawr.edu/catalog/2010-11/program/opportunities/360.html]Bryn”>http://www.brynmawr.edu/catalog/2010-11/program/opportunities/360.html)
[Exhibition</a> Celebrates Completion of Semester I of First 360° | Bryn Mawr Now](<a href=“http://news.brynmawr.edu/?p=7247]Exhibition”>http://news.brynmawr.edu/?p=7247)
[Spring</a> 360? Brings Students and Faculty Together to focus on 1900 Vienna and the End of an Empire | Bryn Mawr Now](<a href=“http://news.brynmawr.edu/?p=6752]Spring”>http://news.brynmawr.edu/?p=6752)</p>
<p>The 2011-12 clusters, from an email sent to current students:</p>
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<p>Ahhh, the 360 Vienna Spring semester sounds fabulous! Really rich & fascinating environment!</p>
<p>I saw some of the Fall 2011 360 courses in the Tri-Co Course Catalog, as a Swat student, and was jealous. But realistically, it’s a HUGE commitment–essentially the same as studying abroad and not being able to count any courses in that semester toward major/minor/GenEd. It will be interesting to see how successful and sustainable the program is in the long-term.</p>
<p>A point of clarification about requirements:</p>
<p>360° courses may count toward fulfilling both the Approaches to Inquiry requirements, as well as major requirements. For example, our current 360° Vienna courses are listed in the Growth and Structure of Cities Department, History of Art Department and German department and would count toward a major/minor in any of those respective departments. Furthermore, it is almost certain that at least one of the three courses would count toward Inquiry Into the Past or Critical Interpretation or Cross-Cultural Analysis. While it may take some planning to choose a 360°, there are benefits to participating in this unique academic experience. 360° asks students to evaluate a topic from several perspectives and work within a cohort for an extended period of time, sharing ideas, assessing patterns and synthesizing information to present to a larger group. In many ways this approach is much like an actual work environment, where being able to evaluate a problem through multiple lenses, with a cohort of people who bring different strengths and experiences to the table, to develop thoughtful solutions. As an admin and an alumna, I was very excited that Bryn Mawr was moving in this direction and that the College would be able to offer this experience to Bryn Mawr students. It is exactly the kind of critical inquiry that prepares students for life.</p>
<p>Keilexandra, I am going to have to disagree with your post. As a senior history major who has participated in TWO 360 classes, I can tell you from personal experiences that the classes are not always huge time commitments and you can absolutely get academic credit within your major for the class…when appropriate! I would also like to take a moment and say how much I enjoyed reading “BMC_Official Reps” post. </p>
<p>Last semester, I was enrolled in a 360 class that focused on the history of Bryn Mawr College and women’s higher education in the 19th/20th century. This class was cross listed between history and education. Even though the class was a 360 class, because I am a history major, I received history credit for the class. </p>
<p>“The History of Bryn Mawr & Women’s Higher Education” was fascinating and probably one of, if not the best class I’ve taken at Bryn Mawr. Our professor is incredibly knowledgeable about the history of the period and of the college and his enthusiasm for the topic made class a pleasure. This class was modeled after your standard advanced “300” level seminar and met once a week for three hours. In fact, because the model was something that I was already used to, I often forgot that this was a 360 class. With regards to work, I did not feel that it was a time constraint, in fact, it felt like a typical workload for me. (About 200 pages a week…that’s actually a little bit less than what I get in other 300 level history classes).</p>
<p>For me, one of the highlights of the Bryn Mawr history class was our trip to Baltimore. Two women who were integral to the creation of Bryn Mawr College were M. Carey Thomas and Mary Elizabeth Garrett. Both women were from Baltimore. For the purpose of deepening our understanding of the college’s roots, we visited one of Mary Garrett’s homes in Baltimore, as well as the Bryn Mawr School, which was set up by the same women as a feeder school to Bryn Mawr College. It was a wonderful trip!</p>
<p>This semester, I am participating in the 360 class called, “The Last Days of Habsburg: Vienna 1900 and the End of an Empire.” As BMC_Official Rep described, this class is an interdisciplinary course, cross listed between History of Art, German, and Cities. This class attempts to investigate Viennese culture between 1900 - 1920 through the lenses of history, art history, literature, psychoanalysis, music, architecture etc…</p>
<p>As a modern European historian, I’ve enjoyed this class significantly because it has allowed me to understand the history of the Austro-Hungarian empire and of Vienna at the fin-de-siecle, but I’ve employed techniques of investigation that are fairly foreign to me. (ex: Analyzing literature or art and determining what is being reflected about society at this moment?, etc…)</p>
<p>I will admit that I am not getting major or minor credit, but that’s because I am not a major or minor of any of the cross listed classes. That said, I know that my fellow classmates who are Cities or History of Art majors are getting credit from their departments.</p>
<p>With regards to a time commitment, I will admit that yes, this class is time consuming, but there are benefits. At Bryn Mawr, it is normal to take four credits a semester, or take four classes. (1 credit = 1 class). This Vienna class also uses the standard “300” level model where we meet once a week for three hours. In addition to class time, the students have been broken up into small groups and have each been assigned research topics. With this topic, we are to design an online exhibition. My group is working on coffee house culture. This project does take up a lot of time, but the professors recognize this. It is for that reason that this class was designated as a TWO CREDIT class. This means that rather than take four classes this semester, I am enrolled in three because my Vienna class counts for two credits. (The class is one credit and the online exhibition is the second credit). So, while this class may take up lots of my time, the professors are incredibly reasonable.</p>
<p>Like my trip to Baltimore, for this Vienna class, we have had two class trips. Over spring break, we all went to Vienna where we essentially got to interact with the material we had been discussing first hand. The trip also allowed the small research groups to do more research on their topic. For example, my group visited numerous coffee houses so we could observe the variety of customers and see how every coffee house in Vienna differs. It was a really wonderful experience! In addition to Vienna, this past Friday (4/1), my class went to the Neue Gallerie in New York City to see the new “Vienna 1900” exhibit. Again, this was a way for the class to interact with the material. (Rather than talk about the art of Gustuv Klimt & Egon Schiele, we were able to see it for ourselves and draw our own conclusions). </p>
<p>I apologize for the significant length of this post, but I hope this helps to clarify and answer some questions.</p>
<p>I will gladly stand corrected. I had managed to click on the sign-up link for the Fall 2011 360 about meditation, which looks AWESOME but is 3 courses plus a required independent study credit and trips abroad that are not specified as being over break, though perhaps they are. Probably other 360 programs are less all-encompassing.</p>
<p>My post was misinterpreted, I think. By “time commitment,” I meant the fact that 4 credits of 360 courses would constitute an entire academic semester, not any judgment of workload. And, of course you would get credit for a course in your major/minor department, just like any study abroad program. But it seems difficult to plan ahead to use a 360 to fulfill distribution requirements, since first-year students are not accepted (at least for the meditation program) and there’s no guarantee that you will be accepted into the program for a given semester. In that sense, 360 courses could very well end up as simply elective credits–which is fine, but it’s still good to know that a given 360 might require you to take a full semester load of electives.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. Interesting to know that some 360’s are one course and others are groupings of courses. Studying a topic from several disciplines is a great way to deepen knowledge, and I’m glad Bryn Mawr encouraging this way of approaching problems.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to the Fall 2011 360 on meditation, which is what I based my comments on: [Fall</a> 2011 360° Explores the History, Science and Practice of Meditation and Other Mindful Practices | Bryn Mawr Now](<a href=“http://news.brynmawr.edu/?p=8543]Fall”>http://news.brynmawr.edu/?p=8543)</p>
<p>Keilexandra is right that next year’s 360s are going to be more time-consuming (3-4 classes, which have to be taken as a group) than the current ones (2-3 classes, which - I think - could be taken individually). It remains to be seen how the new structure will be received by the students.</p>
<p>While I see the benefit of having an all-encompassing 360, I am a bit disappointed that this new format practically precludes science majors from participating. Most intermediate-level science courses are taught as sequences. If we don’t start the sequence in the fall, there might be no classes to take in the spring either.</p>