Programs and Opportunities

Army ROTC

Hendrix College students are invited to participate in the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps program conducted under the auspices of the University of Central Arkansas. The program is offered on a voluntary basis to first-year men and women enrolling at Hendrix. The courses available are Military Science I-IV, and incur no additional charge as a fifth course.

Combined Engineering Programs

Hendrix participates in cooperative programs in engineering with Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, and Washington University. Under provisions of these programs, students take three years of their work at Hendrix and two years at Columbia, Vanderbilt, or Washington University. These programs enable students to receive a liberal arts degree from Hendrix and an engineering degree from one of the three schools of engineering. Students desiring information about these programs should contact Dr. Richard Rolleigh of the Department of Physics, 450-1256.

Gulf Coast Research Laboratory

Hendrix College is a formal affiliate of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Courses that deal with the ecology, botany, zoology, and microbiology of marine organisms may be taken in Ocean Springs during the summer. Credit for these courses is awarded through the University of Southern Mississippi and is accepted as biology credit at Hendrix College with the prior approval of both the student’s academic advisor and the chairman of the Biology Department, 450-4532.

Independent Studies

Hendrix College encourages each student to include at least one independent study in the course work presented for the Bachelor of Arts. Independent studies are arranged by the student in consultation with a supervising faculty member, and each independent study proposal must be approved by the chair of the department within which the independent study is registered as a course. Independent studies should be designed to expand, complement, and deepen the college’s regular course offerings and may be arranged as tutorials or undergraduate research experiences.

Students wishing further information on independent study opportunities should consult with the chair of the relevant department.

International-Intercultural Studies

Hendrix College, through the International-Intercultural Studies Committee and individual faculty members and departments, encourages and coordinates overseas study opportunities for Hendrix students. The Committee also aids in the development of international educational programs and activities. The I-IS Committee is made up of students, faculty, and members of the administrative staff.

The College sponsors student participation in international exchange programs. Arrangements with the Karl Franzens University in Graz, Austria, and the International Student Exchange Program (over 100 universities in about 45 countries) permit Hendrix students to study at foreign universities and allow Hendrix to bring students from overseas universities to the College. In addition, study abroad opportunities are available through the Associated Colleges of the South.

The International Student Exchange Program, or ISEP, provides many unusual opportunities for study abroad. The program arranges for direct enrollment of individual Hendrix students in colleges and universities on six continents. In recent years, ISEP placements have been arranged in places like the Netherlands, Estonia, Hungary, Malta, Ghana, Korea, and Australia.

With the approval of the I-IS Committee, students may spend their junior or senior years in the Hendrix-in-Oxford program. Under the auspices of the Oxford Overseas Study Course, they study in England with individual tutors in a number of academic disciplines. Students develop individual study programs and participate in extracurricular activities, which have included internships at the British House of Commons, participation on an Oxford women’s rowing team, and membership in the John Wesley and Fabian Societies. The program allows for extensive European travel during the long winter and spring recesses.

Other overseas opportunities in Europe are provided for students through programs recommended by the Department of Foreign Languages. The Coordinator of International Programs also advises individual students on participation in the American Institute for Foreign Study, the Institute for European Studies, and many other programs. Other campus organizations arrange special foreign travel, study, and activity programs such as European tours by various musical ensembles, volunteer work in Haiti, and the Hendrix-in-London semester sponsored by the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation.

Information on all of these overseas activity and study programs may be obtained from Dr. Wayne Oudekerk, Coordinator of International Programs, 450-1210. The College also encourages students during their junior years to explore postgraduate international study opportunities such as the Rhodes Scholarship Program, the Fulbright Scholarship Program (Professor Lyle Rupert, advisor), the Thomas J. Watson Fellowships (Ms. Britt Anne Murphy, advisor), and others. Recent graduates have won awards for the study of history in England, language in France, chemistry in Austria, literature in Germany, religion in Turkey, medicine in France and West Africa, and environmental issues in New Zealand.

Hendrix College cannot be held responsible for the financial liability or any other obligations of foreign programs.

Internships

In an effort to provide students with the opportunity to gain additional experiences in areas of study and to clarify their career interests, Hendrix College offers an Internship Program. Coordinated through the Office of Career Services, this program encourages students to apply classroom theories to the solutions of actual problems at a work site. Interns are placed with host agencies responsible for providing training and supervision to students throughout the internship experience. This program is available to sophomores, juniors, and seniors of all majors and may be combined with an internship for course credit. All interested students must meet with a Career Services professional to complete all learning contracts prior to beginning the internship experience. Contact the Office of Career Services, 450-1416, for additional information.

Sunoikisis

Sunoikisis ("cohabitation" in Greek) is an organization of the Classics programs at colleges belonging to the Associated Colleges of the South. Sunoikisis offers translation courses in Latin and Greek for advanced students as well as a course in archaeology which prepares students for a summer dig in Turkey. These courses, taught by professors from the ACS, combine online lectures, web-based discussions, and tutorials with a professor at a student's home institution. Arrangements may be made for interested Hendrix students to participate in these courses and receive Hendrix credit. Students should contact Dr. Rebecca Resinski of the Department of Foreign Languages, 450-1464, for more information.

Undergraduate Research

Students are encouraged to explore the opportunities available in the department of their major for undergraduate research. In a variety of formats—on-campus or off-campus, as a paid internship or for academic credit—Hendrix students may participate in faculty-directed research projects. As a part of the undergraduate experience, student research is an instructional format providing first-hand understanding of methods through which knowledge is gained in a particular field. These projects often lead to the presentation of results at departmental colloquia or seminars, state or regional meetings, or the annual sessions of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Students interested in these opportunities should consult with their faculty advisors or the chairs of the major departments.

The Washington Semester

Under an agreement with The American University in Washington, D.C., Hendrix College participates in the Washington Semester Program. Students selected to study under this program spend the fall semester of their junior or senior years in Washington and are enrolled at The American University. This program affords students opportunity to continue their college educations while observing the operation of government and international agencies in the nation’s capital. Detailed information may be obtained from the chair of the Department of Politics, 450-1319.