<p>I am currently a junior at a very tiny Waldorf school in Santa Fe, New Mexico (about fifty kids in the high school) and I absolutely love it. I am undecided of my major, so I want a school with interdiseplinary studies and perhaps a student designed major. I think that I want to study anthropology, the classics, or art history. I love art, especially the textile arts, and I would want to incorporate that into my major. I want a school where artists are active, especially since I live in the city that is the 3rd largest art market in the US, after New York and LA. I also want a school that has a strong study abroad program. I don't care where the school is located, but it most certainly needs to be small. Any suggestions? I would really appreciate the help.</p>
<p>Vassar comes to mind, and Purdue University, but what are the financial restrictions?</p>
<p>You should take a look at Oberlin College. Oberlin has strong departments in all of the majors that you are looking for. It has an art museum right on campus called the Allen Memorial, and they have an art rental program where students camp out to rent pieces of artwork to hang in their dorm rooms for 5 dollars a semester. You can even rent a Picasso, which I think is pretty cool. </p>
<p>As for study abroad, Oberlin has a program called Winter Term where students are encouraged to go off campus during the month of January to pursue studies of their choosing, and many students go abroad during this time. The possibilities are completely endless in regards to winter term. </p>
<p>Oberlin has around 2800 students. 2200 are enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences while the other 600 are enrolled in Oberlin’s Conservatory of Music. </p>
<p>You should consider looking into Bowdoin, Bard, Skidmore, Kenyon, and Knox as well. I don’t know much about their programs specifically, but I have heard that these schools also have fantastic art programs. Hope this helped!</p>
<p>Check out the schools on the website [Colleges</a> That Change Lives](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/][b]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/). Also read the book [Cool</a> Colleges](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Colleges-Hyper-Intelligent-Self-Directed-Different/dp/1580088392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338354772&sr=8-1][b][u]Cool”>http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Colleges-Hyper-Intelligent-Self-Directed-Different/dp/1580088392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338354772&sr=8-1) by Donald Asher. It’s a few years old - you can probably find it at your library.</p>
<p>For textile arts, consider doing that junior year abroad in Finland. A program called [Scandinavian</a> Seminar](<a href=“Scandinavian Seminar”>Scandinavian Seminar) can get you there when the time comes.</p>
<p>Look at [Marlboro</a> College](<a href=“http://www.marlboro.edu/][b]Marlboro”>http://www.marlboro.edu/) . . . you might like it. Their visual arts program focuses on drawing/painting/photography . . . but tell them you’re interested in textile arts and see what they say.</p>
<p>Look at [Sarah</a> Lawrence College](<a href=“http://www.slc.edu/][b]Sarah”>http://www.slc.edu/) also. It is completely different from any other school you’ll find. Again, no textile arts that I can see . . . but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t create your own major.</p>
<p>marigold, it’s hard to recommend without knowing your academic and financial standing, but these are some liberal arts colleges with strong art and art history, plus strong academics: Williams, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Kenyon, Oberlin, Skidmore, Conn College, Vassar, Bennington. Smith if you are female.</p>
<p>Since Williams is the one I’m the most familiar with I’ll comment further: Williams has a vibrant art history and art studio department. The studio facilities are superb and the faculty is diverse and process oriented. It has one of the country’s best art history programs and three worldclass museums on or near campus. The other academic areas are excellent too, and exploration is encouraged. But it is VERY selective.</p>
<p>Most academically rigorous LACs offer a high degree of flexibility in cross disciplinary study. I wouldn’t worry too much about that just yet or about study abroad opportunities which are fairly common.</p>
<p>What you should concentrate on is first the finances and second putting together a balanced list of reach/match/safety.</p>
<p>Art studio at LACs tends to focus on traditional media – painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking. I don’t know that you’re going to find textile arts at many LACs, but you will find an openness to allow you to pursue non-traditional media.</p>
<p>Whatever your eventual major, be sure to submit an art portfolio with your application. This is a big plus in LAC admissions.</p>
<p>Someone mentioned Marlboro College in Vermont, and as a student there, I have to say that it sounds like it might be a really great fit for you! Here’s why, according to the information you gave about what you’re looking for…</p>
<p>Size: Marlboro is very small, with around 300 students. This means that classes usually have 8 students or less - with one-on-one tutorials with professors in junior/senior years. Because of this, you really get a lot of individual attention.</p>
<p>Interdisciplinary Studies: The point of academics at Marlboro is to study broadly and draw parallels between different subjects. Each student completes a final intensive senior project, which is usually very interdisciplinary. So studying in different areas of study is strongly encouraged.</p>
<p>Anthropology/Classics/Art History: You mentioned an interest in anthropology. As an anthopology/language student at Marlboro, I have been thrilled with my classes. The anthropology professor is fantastic, and really willing to help students study what interests them. As far as classics, Latin and Ancient Greek are always offered. Marlboro always has a Classics Fellow from Oxford, who is changed every two years. I haven’t taken any art history classes here, but I have heard great things about the professor and the classes.</p>
<p>Art: About 40% of Marlboro students incorporate the fine arts into their studies. Many of them decided to come here instead of art school because they wanted an interdisciplinary program that incorporated the arts. Included in our art facilities are a darkroom and a ceramics studio, among other things.</p>
<p>Study Abroad: We have a very active World Studies Department, which does a few different things. 1) They run a program which gives you a second major in international studies, and incorporates a 6-8 month internship abroad. 2) They help create faculty-led trips abroad during breaks and the summer. 3) They help you find study-abroad programs to study abroad on your own. I went on a faculty-led trip to China for 7 weeks in summer 2011 for a language intensive program. Now, I’m getting help applying to a program in Belize where I hope to study for a semester.</p>
<p>The thing that I love about Marlboro College is that each student’s curriculum is self-designed. This means you can really study broadly and take classes that really interest you. By the time you get to junior year, many classes take the form of tutorials, which allow you to investigate a topic of your choice in-depth with a professor. This system means that there isn’t much limitation when it comes to studying something that interests you, because you can study something not normally offered at the school.</p>
<p>I know that’s a lot of information all at once. But when I saw your post, I immediately thought that Marlboro sounds like a great fit for you. I know I love it here! You should check out the website: [Marlboro</a> College](<a href=“http://www.marlboro.edu%5DMarlboro”>http://www.marlboro.edu) Hope this all helps a bit!</p>
<p>One school that hasn’t been mentioned that I think you should check out is Warren Wilson College. It has the programs you want to study, including textile art and a good study-abroad program. It is also small (900 undergrads and 100 graduate students) and located near a very artistic city (Asheville, NC)</p>
<p>If you post your stats, desired location, financial needs etc. it will help</p>
<p>Bennington.</p>
<p>Bard College and SUNY Purchase are very arts focussed and close to NYC.</p>