2004-05 Catalogue
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1 Contents College Calendar. 2 General Information A History of Vassar College . 5 Academic Life . 7 Physical Resources . 10 Student Services and Activities . 17 Admission . 25 Fees . 29 Financial Aid . 34 Alumnae and Alumni of Vassar College (AAVC) . 42 Academic Information Degrees and Courses of Study . 45 Preparation for Graduate Study . 65 Instruction 2004/2005 . 67 Departments and Programs of Instruction . 69 College Organization Board of Trustees . 391 Administration . 392 Alumnae and Alumni of Vassar College . 403 Faculty . 404 Degree Programs . 422 Index . 423 For the college website and the catalogue online, please refer to: http://www.vassar.edu VASSAR 2004/05 Catalogue printed on recycled paper 2 Calendar 2004/05 Vacations, recesses, and holidays are shown in underlined figures. JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER SMTWTF S SMTWTF S SMTWTF S 123 1234567 1234 4 5678910 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 29 30 31 26 27 28 29 30 OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER SMTWTF S SMTWTF S SMTWTF S 12 123456 1234 3 456789 7 8 9 10111213 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 28 29 30 26 27 28 29 30 31 31 JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH SMTWTF S SMTWTF S SMTWTF S 1 12345 12345 2 345678 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 9 101112131415 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 27 28 27 28 29 30 31 30 31 APRIL MAY JUNE SMTWTF S SMTWTF S SMTWTF S 12 1234567 1234 3 456789 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 29 30 31 26 27 28 29 30 Although Vassar College has no religious affiliations, it does respect the obser- vance of religious holy days by members of the college community. Academic Calendar 3 First Semester 2004/05 August 6 Friday Last day for payment of first semester fees. 23 Monday Residence houses open at 9:00 a.m. for new students only. All new students arrive before 2:00 p.m. for beginning of orientation week. First board meal is lunch. 28 Saturday Residence houses open at 9:00 a.m. for all other students. 30 Monday Classes Begin. Registration of special students. September 1 Wednesday Fall Convocation at 3:30 p.m. 10 Friday Add period ends. October 2-3 Saturday- Freshmen Parents Weekend. Sunday 8 Friday Drop period ends. 15 Friday- October break begins at 5:00 p.m. 24 Sunday October break ends at midnight. November 8-19 Monday- Preregistration for Spring 2005. Friday 24-28 Wednesday- Thanksgiving recess begins at 5:00 p.m. Sunday Thanksgiving recess ends at midnight. December 7 Tuesday First semester classes end. 8-12 Wednesday- Study period. Sunday 13-17 Monday- First semester examinations. Friday 18 Saturday Residence houses close at 9:00 a.m. Last board meal is breakfast. Second Semester 2004/05 January 3 Monday Last day for payment of second semester fees. 15 Saturday Residence houses open at 9:00 a.m. New students arrive. First board meal is lunch. 19 Wednesday Second semester classes begin. Registration of special students. February 1 Tuesday Add period ends. 23 Wednesday All College Day (classes will be held). March 4 Friday Drop period ends. 4 Friday Spring vacation begins at 5:00 p.m. 5 Saturday Residence houses close at 9:00 a.m. Last board meal is breakfast. 20 Sunday Spring vacation ends at midnight. Residence houses open at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday (19th). First board meal is lunch on Saturday, March 19. April 8-10 Friday- All Parents Weekend Sunday 4-15 Monday- Preregistration for Fall, 2005. Friday 27 Wednesday Spring Convocation at 3:30 p.m. May 3 Tuesday Second semester classes end. 4-10 Wednesday- Study period. Tuesday 11-17 Wednesday- Second semester examinations. Tuesday 18 Wednesday Residence houses close at 9:00 a.m. (except seniors). 22 Sunday 141st Commencement. Residence houses close at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, May 23 (for seniors). June 3-5 Friday- Vassar College Reunions. Sunday Note: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday there is an uneven distribution of class days during the fall term. Therefore, the final Monday and Tuesday of the fall term will be treated, for teaching purposes, as a Friday and a Thursday, as noted below: Monday, December 6 = Friday Tuesday, December 7 = Thursday 4 Academic Calendar Four-Year Calendar, 2004/05-2007/08 First Semester 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 Classes Begin 8/30 (Mon) 9/1 (Thur) 8/31 (Thur) 8/30 (Thur) October Break: Begins 5:00 p.m. 10/15 (Fri) 10/14 (Fri) 10/13 (Fri) 10/12 (Fri) Ends Midnight 10/24 (Sun) 10/23 (Sun) 10/22 (Sun) 10/21 (Sun) Thanksgiving: Begins 5:00 p.m. 11/24 (Wed) 11/23 (Wed) 11/22 (Wed) 11/21 (Wed) Ends Midnight 11/28 (Sun) 11/27 (Sun) 11/26 (Sun) 11/25 (Sun) Classes End 12/7 (Tue) 12/9 (Fri) 12/8 (Fri) 12/7 (Fri) Study Period: Begins 12/8 (Wed) 12/10 (Sat) 12/9 (Sat) 12/8 (Sat) Ends 12/12 (Sun) 12/14 (Wed) 12/13 (Wed) 12/12 (Wed) Final Exams: Begin 12/13 (Mon) 12/15 (Thur) 12/14 (Thur) 12/13 (Thur) End 12/17 (Fri) 12/21 (Wed) 12/20 (Wed) 12/19 (Wed) Second Semester Classes Begin 1/19 (Wed) 1/25 (Wed) 1/24 (Wed) 1/23 (Wed) Spring Break: Begins 5:00 p.m. 3/4 (Fri) 3/10 (Fri) 3/9 (Fri) 3/7 (Fri) Ends Midnight 3/20 (Sun) 3/26 (Sun) 3/25 (Sun) 3/23 (Sun) Classes End 5/3 (Tue) 5/9 (Tue) 5/8 (Tue) 5/6 (Tue) Study Period: Begins 5/4 (Wed) 5/10 (Wed) 5/9 (Wed) 5/7 (Wed) Ends 5/10 (Tue) 5/16 (Tue) 5/15 (Tue) 5/13 (Tue) Final Exams: Begin 5/11 (Wed) 5/17 (Wed) 5/16 (Wed) 5/14 (Wed) End 5/17 (Tue) 5/23 (Tue) 5/22 (Tue) 5/20 (Tue) Commencement 5/22 (Sun) 5/28 (Sun) 5/27 (Sun) 5/25 (Sun) General Information 5 General Information Will Faller Will Winston Churchill said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” Vassar’s striking new Center for Drama and Film, designed by Cesar Pelli, is shaping the next generation of filmmakers and dramatists. A History of Vassar College A pioneer for women’s education and liberal arts education in the United States, Matthew Vassar founded Vassar College in 1861. Opening its doors to its first class of 353 students paying $350 for tuition and “residence” on September 26, 1865, the college offered young women a liberal arts education equal to that of the best men’s colleges of the day. Coeducational since 1969, Vassar College set the standard for higher education for women for more than 100 years and now sets the standard for true coeducation. Recognized as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country, Vassar has successfully fulfilled its founder’s goals. An English-born brewer and businessman, Matthew Vassar established his college in Poughkeepsie, New York, a small city on the Hudson River, 75 miles north of New York City. Soon after opening its doors, Vassar gained a reputation for intellectual rigor that led to the founding of the first chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at a women’s college. For the first time, women were offered courses in art history, physical education, geology, astronomy, music, mathematics, and chemistry, taught by the leading scholars of the day. From the beginning, the Vassar curriculum was characterized by boldness, breadth, and flexibility, and Vassar graduates were recognized as a “breed apart” for their independence of thought and their inclination to “go to the source” in search of answers. The Vassar approach to learning was shaped by faculty members such as noted astronomer Maria Mitchell, the first woman to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Frederick Louis Ritter, one of America’s first historians of music. In 1869, Maria Mitchell took her students to Iowa to observe an eclipse of the sun, and in the 1880s Lucy Maynard Salmon, professor of history, explored the “seminar method” of teaching through original source materials. Vassar continues to use original source materials as essential teaching elements in several departments. The college holds an extensive collection of manuscripts in the Virginia B. Smith Manuscript Collection, named for president emerita Virginia B.