Distinctive Knox Programs

Your education should be about more than just listening to lectures and taking notes. One of the great advantages of an education based on the freedom to flourish is that it provides countless opportunities for you to learn by doing.

By developing a personalized educational plan, you have the opportunity to branch out from the classroom into the local community and the world. You will do research or creative projects, internships, off-campus study, and service projects that let you explore your passions and apply your knowledge.

Research
You can pursue research, creative projects, or independent study (as 90% of our students do), with more than $200,000 of funding support from programs such as these:

• Students in the Honors Program propose a major research project for which they write a thesis that is evaluated by an Honors committee that includes an outside expert in the field. Recent topics range from the effect of ozone on the morphology of soybean leaves to a study of Japanese-American internment during World War II. Some Honors projects in the creative arts result in an original creative work such as a play, musical composition, or exhibit.
• Students pursuing independent study can apply for a Richter Fellowship to provide funds necessary to carry out their research, including travel, equipment, and supplies. So you might find yourself investigating the search image phenomenon in foraging starlings or examining the future time perspective's influence on people's personal goals.
• To encourage students who are contemplating academic teaching careers, the Ford Fellowship Program selects juniors for full-time research support during the summer prior to their senior year to work on projects that range from studying the ancient Greek language to examining the drug-seeking behavior of rats.
• The Ronald E. McNair Program is intended to encourage students from backgrounds under-represented in academia to pursue academic careers. McNair Scholars receive funding for summer research and help in finding assistantships and internships that involve academic careers. Recent McNair Scholars have produced studies on everything from the aftermath of the Rodney King riots to mutant proteins in E. coli.

Immersion Experiences
You can spend a term fully immersed in specialized studies.

• If you're interested in clinical psychology, counseling, or social work, you can spend a Clinical Psychology Term immersing yourself in the field by taking two integrated courses plus a clinical psychology internship in or around Galesburg.
• During the interdisciplinary Green Oaks Term at our Green Oaks Biological Field Station, you conduct research, work on creative projects, and participate in courses in biology, anthropology/sociology, and the arts. The Term also includes workshops in outdoor skills, first aid, and photography.
• You can immerse yourself in the language, history, and philosophy of Japan through Japan Term, an interdisciplinary program that integrates fall term coursework with a two-week trip to Japan.
• If you're an art student, Open Studio Term allows you to spend an entire 10-week term working as a full-time artist, and the work you create becomes part of your Senior Show in the College's Ford Center for the Fine Arts.
• The only course of its kind in the nation, the Repertory Theatre Term enables you, regardless of your major, to dedicate an entire 10-week term to the study of theatre and the staging of two major theatrical productions.

Off-Campus Study
You can study off campus, choosing from more than 30 programs in the U.S. and around the globe. In fact, nearly 50% of our students participate in off-campus study.

• You can study abroad through programs in 20 different countries: Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, Tanzania, and the United Kingdom.
• Off-campus study programs within the United States include politics in Washington, D.C., science at the Argonne National Laboratories in Illinois and the Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee, and programs in the arts, business, and humanities in Chicago.
• Many classes have an off-campus component. You can take a course in marine biology that includes two weeks of studying the coral reef in Belize, or a course on the arts scene in London that travels to the city to experience its theatres and museums firsthand. You might also travel abroad to conduct fieldwork or otherwise gather information for an independent research project or class.

Public Service
You can also participate in Knox College's strong tradition of making a difference.

• Knox is the first college or university in the country with an official Peace Corps Preparatory Program featuring a curriculum designed to prepare you to serve in the Peace Corps or other international service.
• If you are pursuing a minor in social service, you can complete internships with social service agencies working with socially disadvantaged groups in the community.
• The Center for Community Service coordinates on- and off-campus volunteer opportunities for you to consider, and many of our clubs and student organizations revolve around service.