About K : The Kalamazoo Plan
For more than 30 years, Kalamazoo College has offered a nationally-recognized
curriculum called the "K" plan, an undergraduate experience of rigorous
liberal arts scholarship and opportunities for experiential education in both
domestic and international settings.
More particularly, the Kalamazoo Plan includes
classroom and laboratory explorations in a learning environment in which
teachers know and attend to their students personally; career development
experiences; study abroad; service learning; and an in-depth senior individualized
project. This distinct combination of opportunities and expectations contributes
to the development of self-reliant, mature individuals of principle and
character-individuals well equipped to discharge their duties as citizens and
to fulfill their aspirations both for careers and for further learning.
The "K" plan has four components: on-campus liberal
arts courses and a Senior Individualized Project are required for all students,
while career development internships and study abroad are optional.
The "K" plan provides students with a global awareness through study abroad,
career exploration through internships, experience in independent thinking
and research through the Senior Individualized Project, and a broad exposure
to ways of understanding the world through on-campus courses in the liberal
arts and sciences.
Career Development Internships
The Career Development Center provides information on over 2,100 internships
worldwide. About 80 percent of Kalamazoo students choose to participate.
Internships help students determine their major and provide valuable career-related
experience. For more information, visit our Center for Career Development.
Study Abroad
Kalamazoo College offers over 50 study abroad programs on six continents
- the most highly regarded international study program in the world. About
80 percent of Kalamazoo students choose to participate. The study abroad
programs are distinguished by the high level of academic and cultural
intregration achieved by program participants. For more information, visit
our Center for International Programs.
The Senior Individualized Project
The Senior Individualized Project (SIP) is a substantial thesis, performance
or other creative work which is presented and evaluated. The results
of the SIP are often published and some are even of master's-level quality.
For more information visit Academic Requirements.
The College, through this Kalamazoo Plan, is especially dedicated to the cultivation
among students of five key dimensions of intellectual and personal growth:
- Lifelong learning is the passion for exploring new ideas through
sustained engagement with the liberal arts and sciences and for the
rich reflection on ever-changing experiences that such engagement
affords. One end of formal education, in short, should be an eager
curiosity and the skills and knowledge that will give direction
to that curiosity.
- Career readiness includes hands-on explorations-through
internships, externships, and other field experiences-based on
the student's combination of interests, values, and capabilities.
These explorations help the student form career goals that have
high potential for providing career satisfaction and fulfillment.
- Intercultural understanding is an awareness of the different ways that
people experience and organize the world and an openness to
learning from those who differ from one's own self and culture. By
studying and experiencing other cultures, students expand their consideration
of events, ideas, and beliefs beyond the filter of their
own culture.
- Social responsibility is a commitment to community service and a
willingness to take on roles for the common good. By voluntarily
accepting responsibilities that transcend individual self-interest,
students learn that contributions to community well being go hand in
hand with individual growth.
- Leadership is the ability to envision new possibilities and the capacity
to motivate, organize, and empower oneself and others to achieve
those possibilities. In its most effective form, leadership springs from
democratic principles, such as the free consent of others, and therefore
requires skills such as listening, engaging in effective dialogue, and
consensus building.
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