General Education Requirements of BATES College

General Education Requirements of BATES College

                             Bates College emphasizes a broad-based liberal arts education,encompassing the social sciences,humanities,mathmatics,sciences and the arts.There are no core courses required of all students;however,there is astructured menu of options allowing students to extend,focus,and connect areas of interest.

             Students enroll in two General Education Concentrations (GECs) outside their major,exposing students to a variety of disciplines.A GEC is a group of four linked courses.A GEC may focus on one topic or area of inquiry,with courses coming from different disciplines,or aGEC may focus on atopic within a single department,program,or major.The faculty is developing an array of GECs.Some interdisciplinary examples being considered are:Sound,Hearing and Music; Legal studies;Coastal and Watershed Systems;Architectural Studies:Urbanism and Constructed Spaces;Diasporas;Evidence:Documentation and Reality;Indigenous Responses to Globalization;and Sports,Competition and culture.
                            Three goals serve the larger liberal arts objectives:

1. Teach every student how academic disciplines complement one another,providing a sophisticatied perspective on how to pursue knowledge.

2. Teach every student to write correctly and persuasively.

3. Give students college-level instruction in the methods and findings of the sciences and in quantitative analysis.

SOCIAL LIFE AND ACTIVITIES OF BATES COLLEGE

Sports:

           While students are conscientious about their work,there are very few who dont have several extracurricular activites keeping them busy.Bates supports thirsty varsity teams and twelve club sports teams.\for many students,athletics are a very important part of the Bates experience.Two-thirds of the current student population participated in varsity and club sports.Bates athletic teams compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC).Without a doubt,the most intense rivalries are between Bates and Bowdoin and Colby,referred to as the BBC.One of the goals of every team is to become champs of this "mini-conference" for bragging of Maine.

Clubs/Activity Groups

Bates also supports more than seventy activity groups on campus,including art,chess,choir,dance,drama,gay-lesbian-bisexual alliance,international,jazz band,newspaper,orchestra,political,radio and tv,religious,social,and student government.Students can also start a group.One examples is the Bates Aviators Club,which was started by a student who came to Bates already experienced in piloting.Closely entwined with Bates history is its debate society.Bates was the first American college to engage in International debate.It has produced such eminent Americans as stateman Edmund Muskie and civil right ploneer Benjamin Mays.

Social Life

              The social life at Bates is definitely "alive" social activities are primarly on campus due to the fact that ninety percent of students live on campus.Students can take study breaks at the Den or meet with classmates at the Ronj,an entirely student run coffee house where students perform music and read poetry.Some like to play pool or Ping-Pong in Chase Hall.During the weekend,campus-wide parties,film club movies,and dance and theater productions give the students almost too many choices.The chase Hall Committee,a student run activities group,does a great job of getting big name bands to come and play on campus;past groups include counting crows,Trey Anastaslo of Phish,eminent singer-songwriter Ellis Paul and Edie Carey,Guster,and perennial alt-facorites,Yo La Tengo.

Off-campus Activities

                Being in the metropolitian area of Lewiston-Auburn also provides students with a number of options.Several multi-screen cinemas,shopping malls,and restaurants,accessible by student-run shuttle vans throughout the weekend,give students an off campus release when needed.Add in the fact that the Maine coastline,Portland's Old Port,andhiking and skiing are all lessthan an hour away,and one recognizes the opportunities students have  to enrichtheir Bates experience.