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Prescott College is a private liberal arts college in Prescott, Arizona, founded in 1966. It is a non-profit organization which has an undergraduate body of roughly 750 students, an endowment of US$650,000, and the average class size is usually twelve. There are three general programs at Prescott College: the "Adult Degree Program" (ADP), "Resident Degree Program" (RDP), and "Masters of Arts Program" (MAP). Those enrolled in the ADP program work with various mentors and Prescott College faculty, usually in their home communities. RDP students live in Prescott and attend classes at the college itself. The MAP program is basically a graduate program based on limited residency. Descriptions are laid out here as well:. Since its opening in 1966, more than 9,000 students have attended the college.

Student Life
There is some student housing on campus, though it is limited. Most students take up residence in nearby apartments, condos, and houses. Housing is usually widely available in the town, and the college will help you locate housing if you are having trouble. There are a great deal of eco-minded businesses in the Prescott area which are patronized by the student body. As for activities, there are numerous clubs and organizations that meet every night of the week.

Resident Degree Program
The first thing an RDP student will find him/herself doing is embarking on a three week adventure into some part of Arizona's wilderness, in what is known as wilderness orientation. Essentially incoming students are sent out, depending on the size of the incoming class, in groups of 7-14 people. Students gather supplies and are introduced to the college in their first week, and then sent out to the wilderness. The average distance covered varies from group to group and the ability of those involved, though anywhere from 50-100 miles could be covered.

RDP Degree Plan
Students usually design a degree plan by the beginning of their junior year. Unlike most other schools that have degree programs set with specific classes and little room for deviation, here students fill basic requirements (ie: math/writing) and then design their Competence (like a major) and Breadth (like a minor). The degree plan is then submitted to the student's Individual Graduation Committee (IGC) for review. The IGC consists of at least one faculty member and generally another faculty member and a student if one so chooses. The committee will then edit and suggest classes that are needed to enhance and complete the competence and breadth.

A student's course of study will fall under one of the following : Adventure Education (AE), Arts & Letters (AL), Education (ED), Environmental Studies (ES), Human Development (IS), Cultural & Regional Studies (IS). Some examples of student degree plans would be: "Environmental Studies with a competence in Ecology and a breadth in Rock climbing" or "Cultural & Regional Studies with a competence in Latin American Cultures with a breadth in Psychology". The possibilities for degree titles and course selection are very wide. Degree plans that draw from as many of the six areas of competency as possible are generally the most favorable, the goal here is of obtaining a well rounded liberal arts education. Still students are given an exceptional amount of freedom in pursuing their academic interests.

RDP Senior Project
To graduate from the RDP program every student must create a senior project and then complete it. Writing Certification III and a student's degree plan must be on file for a student to apply for their senior project. They apply for the project the semester before they plan to undertake it. A RDP student cannot graduate without completing a senior project. Some examples include: HUB (helping understand bicycles), The Ripple Repeat Project (campus thrift store), The Latin American Studies Scholarship Endowment Fund or an internship relevant to a student's competence, or even a research paper. Here student's are given a great deal of freedom as well. However a student must rigorously justify his/her project as proof of competence in their field of study.

History
In 1965, the Ford Foundation brought together a group of educators from around the United States and challenged them to create an ideal college for the future—a college that would use the very best learning theories to prepare students for their place in an ever-changing world. Prescott College was the result of this gathering.

The college was originally built in 1966 on 200 acres outside of Prescott, Arizona, on what later came to be known as the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University campus. In 1974, despite dedicated faculty and students, because of poor fiscal management and the loss of certain anticipated donor funds, the college went bankrupt. A core of determined faculty and students refused to see the college fold, and after a series of emergency meetings, formed the Prescott Center for Alternative Education. This earned the school some national publicity as "The College That Wouldn't Die." During the spring semester of 1975, classes were held in the basement of the historic Hassayampa Hotel in downtown Prescott, Arizona, as well as in the homes of both faculty and students. Over the succeeding years, the college was able to once again obtain the legal right to the name Prescott College and began acquiring the property and buildings which constitute the current campus. Most of the current buildings have been converted to classrooms from their previous occupants (e.g., furniture stores and dental offices). The crossroads center, however, is the newest building whose builders had intended for it to be a model of environmental design. Below are pictures of the building:



Curriculum
Although the school is best known for environmental studies programs like Agroecology, Conservation Biology, Earth Science, Ecological Design, Environmental Policy, Geography, Human Ecology, Marine Studies, Natural History and Ecology, and Environmental Education there are also programs in Adventure Education, Outdoor Experiential Education, Wilderness Leadership, Adventure-Based Environmental Education, Outdoor Program Administration, Adventure-Based Tourism, Cultural and Regional Studies, Religion and Philosophy, Sustainability Education, Peace Studies, Political Economy, Latin American Studies, Spanish Language and Literature, International Studies, Women’s Studies, Human Development, Education, Elementary and Secondary Teacher Certification, Writing and Literature, Performing Arts, Photography, Creative Writing, Visual Arts, Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Therapeutic Use of Adventure Education, Ecopsychology, and Equine Assisted Mental Health.

Prescott College Consortium Relationships
Prescott College is part of two major college consortia and has many stand alone student exchange relationships with other like minded institutions that permit students to study as visitors at other institutions while maintaining enrollment and, usually, paying tuition at Prescott. Prescott’s consortium relationships include the Eco League, a six college consortium of colleges with strong environmental studies programs: Antioch College, Alaska Pacific University, Green Mountain College, Northland College, and College of the Atlantic; and the Consortium for Innovative Environments in Learning (CIEL), an eleven college consortium of colleges of so-called “alternative” colleges and universities: Alverno College, Berea College, Daemen College, The Evergreen State College, Fairhaven College at Western Washington University, Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University, Hampshire College (a member of the Five-College Consortium, which includes Amherst College, Smith College , Mt. Holyoke College and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst), Johnson C. Smith University, New College of Florida, and Pitzer College (a member of the Claremont Colleges, a college consortium, located in Southern California which also includes Pomona College, Claremont Graduate University, Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, and the Keck Graduate Institute).

Prescott’s stand alone student exchange relationships include: Telemark College in Norway, the ECOSA Institute (an Ecological Design Institute located in Prescott, Arizona), the SOS Conservation Project, and Sail Caribbean.