1 Contents College Calendar. 2 General Information A History of Vassar College . 6 Academic Life . 8 Physical Resources . 10 Student Services and Activities . 17 Admission . 23 Fees . 27 Financial Aid . 32 Alumnae and Alumni of Vassar College (AAVC) . 40 Academic Information Degrees and Courses of Study . 42 Preparation for Graduate Study . 60 Instruction 2001/2002 . 62 Departments and Programs of Instruction . 64 College Organization Board of Trustees . 342 Administration . 343 Alumnae and Alumni of Vassar College . 355 Faculty . 356 Degree Programs . 374 Index . 376 VASSAR 2001/2002 Catalogue printed on recycled paper 2 Calendar 2001/02 Vacations, recesses, and holidays are shown in underlined figures. JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER SMTWTF S SMTWTF S SMTWTF S 1 234567 1234 1 891011 12 13 14 567891011 2345678 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 9101112131415 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 29 30 31 26 27 28 29 30 31 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER SMTWTF S SMTWTF S SMTWTF S 123456 123 1 78910111213 45678910 2345678 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 9101112131415 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 28 29 30 31 25 26 27 28 29 30 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH SMTWTF S SMTWTF S SMTWTF S 12345 12 12 6 7891011 12 3456789 3456789 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 27 28 29 30 31 24 25 26 27 28 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 APRIL MAY JUNE SMTWTF S SMTWTF S SMTWTF S 123456 1234 1 78910111213 567891011 2345678 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 9101112131415 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 28 29 30 26 27 28 29 30 31 23 24 25 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 2001/02 August 10 Friday Last day for payment of first semester fees. 27 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. September 1 Saturday Residence houses open at 9:00 a.m. for all other students. 3Monday Classes Begin. Registration of special students. 5Wednesday Fall Convocation at 3:30 p.m. 14 Friday Add period ends. 22-23 Saturday- Freshmen Parents Weekend. Sunday October 12 Friday Drop period ends. 12 Friday- October break begins at 5:00 p.m. 21 Sunday October break ends at midnight. November 5-16 Monday- Preregistration for Spring 2002. Friday 21-25 Wednesday- Thanksgiving recess begins at 5:00 p.m. Sunday Thanksgiving recess ends at midnight. December 11 Tuesday First semester classes end. 12-16 Wednesday- Study period. Sunday 17-21 Monday- First semester examinations. Friday 22 Saturday Residence houses close at 9:00 a.m. Last board meal is breakfast. Second Semester 2001/02 January 4 Friday Last day for payment of second semester fees. 19 Saturday Residence houses open at 9:00 a.m. New students arrive. First board meal is lunch. 22 Tuesday Second semester classes begin. Registration of special students. (Note: No classes on Martin Luther King Day) February 4 Monday Add period ends. March 8 Friday Drop period ends. 8Friday Spring vacation begins at 5:00 p.m. 9 Saturday Residence houses close at 9:00 a.m. Last board meal is breakfast. 24 Sunday Spring vacation ends at midnight. Residence houses open at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday (23rd). First board meal is lunch on Saturday, March 23. April 8-19 Monday- Preregistration for Fall, 2002. Friday 12-14 Friday All Parents Weekend Sunday May 1 Wednesday Spring Convocation at 3:30 p.m. 7Tuesday Second semester classes end. 8-14 Wednesday- Study period. Tuesday 15-21 Wednesday- Second semester examinations. Tuesday 22 Wednesday Residence houses close at 9:00 a.m. (except seniors). 26 Sunday 138th Commencement. Residence houses close at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, May 27 (for seniors). June 7-9 Friday- Vassar College Reunions. Sunday Note: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday there are an uneven distribution of class days during the fall term. Therefore, the final Monday and Tuesday of the term will be treated, for teaching purposes, as a Friday and a Thursday, as noted below: Monday, December 10 = Friday Tuesday, December 11 = Thursday 4 Academic Calendar Four-Year Calendar, 2001/02-2004/05 First Semester 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 Classes Begin 9/3 (Mon) 9/2 (Mon) 9/1 (Mon) 8/30 (Mon) October Break: Begins 5:00 p.m. 10/12 (Fri) 10/11 (Fri) 10/17 (Fri) 10/15 (Fri) Ends Midnight 10/21 (Sun) 10/20 (Sun) 10/26 (Sun) 10/24 (Sun) Thanksgiving: Begins 5:00 p.m. 11/21 (Wed) 11/27 (Wed) 11/26 (Wed) 11/24 (Wed) Ends Midnight 11/25 (Sun) 12/01 (Sun) 11/30 (Sun) 11/28 (Sun) Classes End 12/11 (Tue) 12/10 (Tue) 12/9 (Tue) 12/7 (Tue) Study Period: Begins 12/12 (Wed) 12/11 (Wed) 12/10 (Wed) 12/8 (Wed) Ends 12/16 (Sun) 12/15 (Sun) 12/14 (Sun) 12/12 (Sun) Final Exams: Begin 12/17 (Mon) 12/16 (Mon) 12/15 (Mon) 12/13 (Mon) End 12/21 (Fri) 12/20 (Fri) 12/19 (Fri) 12/17 (Fri) Second Semester Classes Begin 1/22 (Tue)* 1/21 (Tue)* 1/20 (Tue) 1/18 (Tue) Spring Break: Begins 5:00 p.m. 3/8 (Fri) 3/7 (Fri) 3/5 (Fri) 3/4 (Fri) Ends Midnight 3/24 (Sun) 3/23 (Sun) 3/21 (Sun) 3/20 (Sun) Classes End 5/7 (Tue) 5/6 (Tue) 5/4 (Tue) 5/3 (Tue) Study Period: Begins 5/8 (Wed) 5/7 (Wed) 5/5 (Wed) 5/4 (Wed) Ends 5/14 (Tue) 5/13 (Tue) 5/11 (Tue) 5/10 (Tue) Final Exams: Begin 5/15 (Wed) 5/14 (Wed) 5/12 (Wed) 5/11 (Wed) End 5/21 (Tue) 5/20 (Tue) 5/18 (Tue) 5/17 (Tue) Commencement 5/26 (Sun) 5/25 (Sun) 5/23 (Sun) 5/22 (Sun) *Note: Classes begin on Tuesday instead of Monday. This is a change from previously published starting dates for Spring, 2002 and 2003. General Information 5 General Information ill Faller W The Atrium Juice Bar in the new Athletics and Fitness Center — guilt-free food and endorphin-enhanced conversation... great combo 6 General Information A History of Vassar College Considered 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. Only 33 years after opening its doors, Vassar had 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, was exploring 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. Smith upon her retirement in 1986. The collection ranges from medieval illuminated manuscripts to modern manuscripts of literary and historical importance. Outstanding among the many manuscripts are the papers of Mary McCarthy, Robert Lowell, Sir Stephen Spender, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Elizabeth Bishop. Education at Vassar was also shaped by the study of art.