Education Put to Work

Breadth in liberal arts study combined with depth in an academic major remains the most adaptable and enduring education for students anticipating productive lives in a rapidly changing world.
The college is proud of its record, stretching well over a century, of "education put to work." A large percentage of St. Olaf graduates continue their education in America's best graduate and professional schools. (The college ranks in the top five percent among private liberal arts colleges whose graduates go on to earn Ph.D.s in all fields, and the national report, Baccalaureate Sources of Ph.D.s in the United States, ranks St. Olaf sixth in the nation in chemistry, first in religion, and fourteenth in life sciences as an undergraduate source of students from liberal arts institutions who subsequently earned doctorates between 1920 and 1997.) Many St. Olaf graduates enter university programs in medicine, law, the fine arts, business and management, and government and public policy, as well as research programs in technologies not dreamed of a decade ago. Other graduates embrace the life and mission of the Church, teaching, and careers in international service, outreach, and travel.
The college counsels patience, search, and reflection in the preparation for future work. Some of the most successful academic programs and majors preparatory for careers are not decided until the end of the sophomore year, and college majors that seem unrelated to specific careers often prove extremely viable. It is noteworthy that many of the country's top business leaders were philosophy or history majors. Today it is not uncommon to see chemistry majors enter law school, and English majors (with requisite health science electives) admitted to medical school.

A number of factors contribute to the success of St. Olaf graduates, including an education that recognizes that as knowledge becomes increasingly less compartmentalized it will be those who have learned how to learn who will have the advantage.

Through their regular coursework, innovative options like the Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum program (see Index), and the hands-on experience provided by independent study and research options, internships, and programs like the Finstad Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, students explore the interconnectedness of the world today -- and prepare for life in the ever-changing world of tomorrow.

Guiding students in their explorations are the informed and caring men and women of the St.İOlaf faculty and staff, who provide continuing support to students in a regular and resourceful program of search and guidance. A number of pre-professional studies programs also help them shape their studies to fit the requirements of America's top professional and graduate schools.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Finstad Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

Adding another distinctive element to the St. Olaf educational experience is the Paul and Anne Finstad Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, established at the college in 1992, which promotes the growth and dissemination of knowledge about entrepreneurship in society. Its goals are to convey knowledge about the challenges, risks, rewards, opportunities, and ethical responsibilities of entrepreneurship; to promote the exchange of ideas between students and faculty, and entrepreneurs, both national and international; and to provide opportunities for research about, and projects involving, entrepreneurship.

It accomplishes this, in part, through the academic program of the college, where it offers a course in the Economics Department on entrepreneurship, acts as a resource for the senior research project required of all students majoring in economics, and oversees internships and independent study in related areas each Interim.

It also awards grants each summer to students who have formulated entrepreneurial initiatives that will provide significant learning experiences. In recent years, the summer awards have helped students establish a specialty photographic business, the development and marketing of an environmental product on the campus, and the publishing and marketing of "high end" comic books through an exclusive agreement with the European publishers.

For more information, write to the Finstad Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Ave., Northfield, MN 55057-1098.

Internship Program

An internship is a planned, supervised, experiential learning project integrating study and practical work that allows students to acquire and apply knowledge through direct experience in a field related to their academic program. It is taken for credit.

The internship is intended to integrate on-site learning, and work with the theory of a related discipline. This contrasts with independent study/research, which focuses on "academic study" of a subject rather than direct experience in a field.

To insure that the internship is credit-worthy, students must develop an educational project plan well in advance of the actual internship and give careful thought to early selection of the on-site field supervisor and faculty supervisor. The student must make systematic and regular reports to both the field and the faculty supervisors.

Application forms are available from departments and the director of internships. The completed form must be submitted to the director of the Internships Office before the first day of classes. If approval is granted, the student then registers for (appropriate department) 294 or 394. Only after the form is completed and then transmitted to the Registrar can the student register for a course. Forms for summer internships must be submitted and approved before a student leaves campus.