The Interim Term at BSC

The most distinctive part of the Birmingham-Southern experience is the Interim Term, a four-week period each January in which students develop their potential for creative activity and independent study by exploring one topic or interest. This intensive program of experiential learning--the middle section of the College's 4-1-4 academic calendar--offers students unique opportunities to be further enriched through on- and off- campus projects, independent study or research, foreign study experiences, and challenging and unusual internships.

With one Interim project required for each full academic year of enrollment--the senior year focusing on a project related to the student's major--Birmingham-Southern students have the distinct advantage of experiencing first-hand how their superior liberal arts education will benefit them and those they will serve in the emerging 21st Century global society.

First-year students meet with their advisors in early October, when they will pick up an Interim registration card. After consulting the Interim bulletin, each student makes a list of four top Interim choices, then returns this card to the advisor a week later. The cards are collected and used to register students in Interim projects. Every effort is made to register as many students as possible into their first or second choice.

During a second advisor meeting two weeks after the first, the student is notified of the course he or she is enrolled in for Interim term. The student then attends an introductory meeting for the registered course in late November. Students may browse the Interim Bulletin in an electronic format.

For more information on Interim at BSC, contact

Jennifer L. Roth-Burnette
Office of Interim and Contract Learning
Birmingham Southern College
900 Arkadelphia Road
Birmingham, AL 35254
(205) 226-4647
1-800-523-5793
E-mail: jroth@bsc.edu or oicl@bsc.edu