Colby-Sawyer College

Colby-Sawyer is a dynamic and innovative liberal arts and sciences college located in the scenic Lake Sunapee Region of central New Hampshire.

During their college careers, 100 percent of our students participate in one or more internships in their fields of study.They also create Learning Portfolios, in which they demonstrate their ongoing progress and achievement. All of our students conclude their senior year with a Capstone project, in which they develop and demonstrate a deeper body of knowledge in their academic major.

Colby-Sawyer is committed to being an inclusive and diverse campus community which celebrates multiple perspectives.The college recognizes that diversity extends beyond recruitment and must include programs and active engagement in a dialogue that aims at understanding one another, is underscored by respect, and reaches into all corners of the campus community.

Colby-Sawyer is looking for students who are ready for an experiential liberal arts education in a community that cares.Smart students who want to be more than just a number. Motivated students who want to build a resume that rocks.Creative students who want their learning to move beyond classrooms and into the world. If this student profile sounds like you, then you have come to the right place.

Your college educations is one of the most important investments you will ever make — one that lasts your entire lifetime.It requires thoughtful and informed planning and Colby-Sawyer is here to help. The Financial Aid Office will work with you and your family to develop payment plans and discuss scholarships, grants, loans and work-study opportunities so that you can experience a Colby-Sawyer education.The Colby-Sawyer academic experience blends the liberal arts and sciences with professional experience to prepare you for a career and graduate studies. Working closely with faculty and staff mentors, you emerge as an active learner and confident scholar, artist, writer, scientist, critical thinker and community leader.

At Colby-Sawyer you take an active role in designing your education from your very first semester. By choosing a theme-based, interdisciplinary First-Year Symposium, the foundation of the college's Liberal Education Program, you explore a topic with a faculty member before heading in your chosen academic direction. At the same time, you develop the writing, reading and thinking skills necessary for success in college and beyond.Our Liberal Education Program allows you to discover and develop your talents across academic disciplines and to record your progress and accomplishments in electronic portfolios.

Liberally educated individuals demonstrate strong thinking skills, empowered learning and intellectual curiosity. At Colby-Sawyer, you develop the ability to integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines through a liberal education curriculum that provides you with the model for successful college-level work and supports learning in your major area of study.

During your first semester you will choose a First-Year Symposium based on your interest in the theme. The First-Year Symposium introduces you to the demands and pleasures of rigorous intellectual endeavors and helps you develop good study habits, develops your abilities to work collaboratively in a community of learners, and helps you appreciate the interconnectedness of knowledge from disciplines across the breadth of human experience.

The challenges of the 21st century underscore the need for connection and integration in student learning.The integrative studies course that you choose to take promotes your ability to forge connections and synthesize knowledge, skills, and experience gained from your liberal education, elective, and major courses. You’ll apply your learning to new challenges and diverse themes that you encounter in a course outside your major.

Internships are field experiences collaboratively supervised by faculty, staff and work site professionals. Our internship program requires you to complete at least one internship in order to graduate and enhances your academic learning with experience related to your career interests in local, national and international settings.

The college years go by faster than you would imagine, and the Learning Portfolio is an opportunity to exhibit your personal and professional growth, as well as to record how you have met Colby-Sawyer's learning outcomes. Learning portfolios include reflections on a range of experiences across your major, the Liberal Education Program and the college.The Learning Portfolio also provides us with an assessment of our academic programs.

The Capstone experience is the culmination of your academic experience and is proof that you have undergone a rigorous, multi-disciplinary education and are ready for success in the workforce or graduate school.Before graduating, you must complete a Capstone research project unique to your major and present the results to faculty, administration, staff and the community at the annual Susan Colby Colgate Scholars' Symposium.

Colby-Sawyer's approach to education recognizes that engaged learning takes place in and outside the classroom and that it is a lifelong adventure. Facets of the educational process — the courses, the learning portfolio, advising and co-curricular activities — combine to achieve the learning outcomes which reflect the college's mission and values.

Colby-Sawyer was founded in 1837 when a legislative charter was granted to eleven New London citizens for the purpose of establishing a school in the town and a building was erected with the support of the town to house said school. This building remains today and serves as the New London town offices, having been gifted to the town by the college in 1999.