Stretch and grow
Learn broadly, and learn boldly. Work with your faculty advisor to take courses in areas guided by your interests and needs—not constrained by the learner you’ve been before—and make your choices as the learner you want to be. Build the foundation of your own education, and develop the Bennington Capacities—to inquire, research, create, engage, and communicate. As you gain your bearings and explore new opportunities, reflect on how your first year at Bennington will guide the next (and the next and the next!).
Bring your plan into focus
Create your own, unique educational Plan, one that connects across disciplines to feed your passion and curiosity and celebrates your strengths while addressing your weaknesses. Collaborate with your Plan committee—your faculty advisor and two more faculty mentors expert in areas that support your ambitions. Propose your Plan to them, hear their guidance, and work together to chart a course to a more mature phase of learning and creating.
Live your plan
Learn, make, and do the work of your Plan every day—even when that is re-making and re-doing—as your understanding of your goals and potential develops and grows. Lean into the faculty and peer relationships that set Bennington apart as an intellectual and creative community. Connect on- and off-campus experiences in your Plan as you move through classes, Field Work Terms, and personal growth. As your learning builds, look ahead with your Plan committee to advanced work and a final year you will be proud of.
Achieve and elevate
Culminate your Plan in a piece of advanced work that demonstrates your Capacities in the classroom, lab, studio, or all three: a study, production, public action campaign, or other achievement specifically yours. As you celebrate your accomplishment with faculty and classmates, elevate your thinking to consider how your plans and successes extend beyond Bennington into life and a career.
