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Saratoga Springs,
New York, 12866
SKIDMORE PHONE
518-580-5000
Academic Environment (continued)
Summer Programs
Through the Office of the Dean of Special Programs, Skidmore’s
summer programs draw thousands of people of different ages
and backgrounds to the campus for credit and noncredit courses,
seminars, workshops, and other events, many of which incorporate
the city’s cultural activities into their offerings.
Full details on all the college's summer program offerings can be found
on the Office of the Dean of Special Programs
Web site.
Summer Term
There are two five-week summer sessions at Skidmore, during which
students may register for up to eight semester hours in each session.
Enrolling in summer classes enables students to take advantage of the
small classes, intimate atmosphere and the opportunities to
concentrate on just one or two courses at a time; fulfill all college,
foundation level and departmental requirements; and to catch up or
accelerate progress toward a degree. The Summer Term features courses
in the full range of the liberal and studio arts as well as special
topics courses in a variety of disciplines, often taught by visiting
faculty, and offer unique opportunities for specialized study.
Students may also engage in independent study courses with faculty and
take advantage of the many internship opportunities in the summer.
Summer Arts at Skidmore
The college's summer institutes in the creative, performing and visual
arts bring a stunning array of visiting faculty and guest artists to
campus each summer to teach and work with students enrolled in the
various programs. The college and Saratoga Springs community are able
to reap the benefits of their presence on campus through concerts,
readings, art exhibits, films, and lectures that fill the summer
calendar. Programs include dance, theater, jazz, writers, and flute institutes and workshops.
Summer Sessions Abroad
Skidmore sponsors a variety of credit-bearing study-abroad courses,
travel seminars, and programs over the summer months. In addition to
an ongoing affiliation with the Studio Art Center International (SACI)
in Florence, Italy, Skidmore's faculty develop special travel-study
programs for Skidmore students to a variety of destinations, such as
South Africa, Greece, Germany, and Great Britain.
to study topics as diverse as
Under the guidance of the Skidmore faculty directing the
program, students have engaged in study of such topics as
post-Apartheid education, dance, social work, and medieval
European history and culture.
The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth offers
qualified adolescents specially developed courses in the sciences,
mathematics, and humanities on the Skidmore campus. A talent
search is conducted by JHU/CTY in conjunction with school
systems across the country.
Skidmore College hosts modern dance companies during the summer
months and offers serious dance students the opportunity for
intensive study. Over the past years, the José Limón
Company, Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation, Dan Wagoner and Dancers,
Trisha Brown Company, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company,
Mark Morris Dance Group, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Martha
Graham Dance Company, Garth Fagan Dance, the Parsons Dance
Company, Doug Varone and Dancers, and Ronald K. Brown/Evidence
have been in residence. In addition, public dance
events presented by the companies provide added cultural attractions
for members of the surrounding communities. This program may
be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit or as a noncredit
workshop.
The Skidmore Summer Flute Institute provides an intensive week of
music-making open for flutists of all levels of ability and
experience—high school and college students, teachers, professionals,
and amateurs. Daily schedules include master classes, ensemble
rehearsals, private lessons and recitals. The week includes special
classes with guest artists and performance opportunities for Institute
flutists.
The IWWG hosts a weeklong conference at Skidmore for women
writers of all levels of experience. Through dozens of workshops,
women refine their skills and learn more about a variety of
writing genres, including nonfiction, fiction, romance, mystery,
poetry, film, television scripts, and journals. Electronic publishing
and the business aspects of writing, such as dealing with
literary agents, are also covered. Several guild members’
works have been published as a result of the annual conference.
This is a two-week residential institute for jazz musicians—including
high school and college students, music educators, and professional
musicians—focusing on theory and improvisation. Master
classes are taught by top jazz artists. The program coincides
with Freihofer’s Jazz Festival at the Saratoga Performing
Arts Center. This program may be taken for academic credit
or as a noncredit workshop.
Skidmore College is host to four New York State Summer Schools of the
Arts (NYSSSA) in jazz studies, ballet, orchestral studies and dance.
These component schools provide pre-professional training with
accomplished artists. Students directly experience the benefits of
consistent and rigorous discipline in their chosen fields. Supported
by the Office of the Governor of New York and funded by the State
Legislature, NYSSSA was founded in 1970. From a broadly diverse
applicant pool that represents the current ethnic, cultural and social
background of New Yorkers, approximately 250 young artists are in
residence each summer at Skidmore College.
The New York State Writers Institute, sponsored by Skidmore
and the University at Albany, State University of New York,
offers an annual summer program for writers. The four-week
program features workshop courses in creative writing taught
by an extraordinary staff of professional writers, including
winners of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
Courses are offered for undergraduate and graduate credit,
and a small number of noncredit students may be enrolled.
This weeklong institute, open to qualified New York State high school
students, features high-level instruction in poetry, prose, and
imaginative nonfiction in workshop settings. Supplementing these
workshops, the young writers attend evening readings and craft talks
by nationally known writers who are part of the New York State Summer
Writers Institute. Participants are expected to write extensively and
present a reading of their work. Selections of work produced during
the Institute are published annually in an anthology.
Pre-College Program in the Liberal and Studio Arts for High School Students
The Pre-College Program in the Liberal and Studio Arts at Skidmore is
a summer college experience for qualified high school students
interested in exploring the liberal and studio arts—and in
preparing for their future careers as college students. Designed for
highly motivated and talented high school students, the program offers
them the opportunity to engage in college-level work in areas of their
interest and to benefit from Skidmore's strengths in the liberal and
studio arts. The courses open to high school students are foundation-level
courses offered as part of Skidmore's summer session for college
students. Classes are small and individualized, the studios are
spacious and well-equipped, and the library and other areas across
campus provide welcoming space for group work and quiet study. The
program is open to qualified high school students currently in their
sophomore, junior, or senior year. High school freshman who
wish to explore and develop their studio art skills but without the
pressure of a grade may apply to enroll in non-credit studio art
workshops, where the demands are the same as in a credit course but
grades are not assessed. All other courses carry full Skidmore College
credit, generally transferable to any other college or university.
Both the credit courses and the non-credit workshops may often be used
by students to advance their standing in their high school.
Scholarships are awarded to students on the basis of need and academic
merit.
Two weeklong residential programs for seventh- and eighth-grade
girls are offered in an effort to expose them to the fascinating
world of the sciences. Students will explore exciting concepts
within the fields of biology, geology, chemistry, physics,
mathematics and computer science, and environmental science,
both in the lab and in the field.
Led by Anne Bogart and company members of the Saratoga International
Theater Institute (SITI), an intensive four-week training
program is offered to actors, directors, designers, dancers,
and choreographers. Training in the Suzuki method of acting,
Bogart’s Viewpoints, and an interdisciplinary approach
to composition are the features of the program. The program
may be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit or as a
non-credit workshop.
