The Plan Process

Click here to see the Plan Process charted out.

The Plan Process is the structure Bennington students use to design and evaluate their education. In a series of essays and meetings with the faculty throughout their years at Bennington, students learn to articulate what they want to study and how they intend to study it. They identify not only the classes they wish to take, but how those classes relate to each other and the rest of their Bennington experience: Field Work Term, tutorials, projects beyond the classroom, and anything else they undertake.

Drop in at any meal at the dining halls and you'll notice a common refrain as students begin gathering their things to leave: "I'm going to do some work." They refer to their studies as "my work," just as any scientist, writer, or artist would—because this is what they are becoming. When you visit campus, ask the students you meet what they're working on and what their current fascinations are. These are the kind of things you can expect to find in a student's Plan.

Basic principles of the Plan:

• The Plan Process is the framework of a Bennington education.
• Support and guidance are built into the Plan Process.
• A successful Plan invariably changes over the course of time.

• The Plan Process is the framework of a Bennington education. Through the Plan Process, you investigate and discover what is of consuming interest to you and what is not. Throughout you are continuously reflecting on this process, often in writing, to deepen your understanding of what is happening, and to steer it in the most compelling directions.
• Support and guidance are built into the Plan Process. You are not on your own: you will meet regularly with your academic advisor and have ongoing meetings with your Plan committee. The faculty will challenge and support you. You will find that conversations with other students also spark ideas for taking your Plan in new directions.
• A successful Plan invariably changes over the course of time. Learning is a moving, living process. If you don't know what you want to study, all the better: the Plan Process is a particularly powerful way to discover it. If you know exactly what you plan to study, the process will allow you to maximize your immersion and encourage you to make room for surprise and new discoveries. Either way, the Plan Process enables you to relish and contend with the implications of your choices.