All students major in human ecology. And every student at COA designs his or her own major. This may seem contradictory, but human ecology integrates knowledge from all academic disciplines and from personal experience to investigate, and ultimately improve, the relationships between human beings and our social and natural communities. How you choose to give shape to your major in human ecology depends upon your interests, goals, and talents. Exploring human ecology requires the skills and dispositions necessary to live with commitment to a community that is both local and global. To thrive and contribute to such a complex world, students will become empowered through the mastery of intellectual and practical skills. There are no academic departments at College of the Atlantic. Avoiding the intellectual boundaries that result from the segregation of academic departments was a conscious choice of the faculty when the college was founded. As the college has grown, the faculty remains non-departmental to allow for interdisciplinary teaching and research, and to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue.
ACADEMICS For organizational purposes, however, COA loosely divides its curriculum into three resource areas: Arts & Design, Environmental Science, and Human Studies. More information on each of these resource areas is found in the introductions to each section of the course descriptions (see pages 25, 43, and 65).
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