Welcome to Interim 2009

New Courses Added!

GEN 91 – Reading, Writing and Hiking the Land (Brasher)
GEN 90 – Quantitative Analysis in Options Trading (Whaley)
GEN 89 – Creating a Virtual BSC (Cockrell)
GEN 88 – Alabama: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (Hazelhoff)
HON 87 – Miss Scarlet in the Study with the Pen… (Mozer)
GEN 92 - Pre-Engineering Internship (Riley)
BI 93 - Directed Research in Biology (Biology Faculty)
BA 94 - Senior Capstone: Moving up the Food Chain (Morrow)

(See course listing for details.)

The Interim registration form for sophomores, juniors, and seniors is available online

Interim, the middle of Birmingham-Southern’s 4-1-4 academic calendar, offers a wide range of unique learning opportunities and invites students to become more involved in the learning process.

Students develop their potential for creative activity and independent study by exploring one topic or interest. The focus of the term is experiential learning, with the intention of enhancing the liberal arts education through hands-on, practical experience and in-depth, personal knowledge. Students may choose from on-campus projects, independent study or research, study-travel experiences, and challenging internships.

One Interim project is required for each academic year, and there are no additional tuition charges for full-time students. Extracurricular activities such as speakers, field trips, films, and discussion groups are available. First-year students may travel during January, but they must choose from an established project listed in the Interim Bulletin. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors may choose from the following options or design their own project under the guidance of a BSC faculty sponsor.

Make the most of your educational experience by taking advantage of the opportunities available during the Interim term— create, explore, experiment, research, perform, inquire, and more.

Important Information for 2009

Internships

BSC now posts information about available internships to www.collegecentral.com/bsc. All students and faculty may log on to search the internship opportunities.

Study Travel Procedures

Several forms and procedures are required for study travel:

All students interested in study travel must complete and sign a Statement of Interest in Travel (SIT) form. The SIT form lets the Office of Interim and Contract Learning (OICL) know that you plan to travel during Interim, and allows the OICL to confirm your eligibility to travel. For faculty-led travel, this form will be available from the trip leader. For independent travel using a Contract, the form will is available from the OICL (Munger 102). The SIT form must be signed and returned to the trip leader before a student can be placed on a departure list.

After the OICL receives the SIT form, the student will receive a Travel Deadlines and Billing Acceptance document that gives the cost and billing schedule for the trip. This document must be completed and returned to the faculty trip leader by the deadline set by the trip leader (usually early in the Fall term). Once the student has completed this billing contract and made the appropriate deposit to the trip leader, he or she will be considered a participant in that trip, understanding that the balance on the trip must be paid in full by the final payment deadline stated in the Payment Deadlines and Billing Acceptance form for your trip.

In order to register for Interim study-travel, you MUST have a valid passport or have applied for an expedited passport by October 3, 2008!

Release forms are due early again this year. Releases for faculty-led study-travel must be returned along with your Payment Deadlines and Billing Acceptance form; for independent contracts the due date is October 13. A signed release form is required before any student may make main payments for study-travel or be placed on a departure list.

BSC Travel Policy

All students interested in study travel are expected to read and conform to the travel policy statement. This applies to students traveling on faculty-led projects as well as those traveling independently.

A calendar of significant dates related to the Interim term is available on the Important Dates page.