Full-Time Programs

:: This coming fall I'll be getting to know the real Evergreen through it's famously strange 16-credit program system. Basically, instead of several different classes (like math, science, philosophy, etc.) all meeting on different days of the week at different times for four or five credits each, I'll simply enroll in one class for sixteen credits, which is how many hours a week it will be. I'll be with the same people every day at the same hours learning about various subjects instead of just one subject.

My first choice is called "Music, Math, and Motion". The title (as it so often does at Evergreen) describes pretty much what we'll be studying: the relationships between music, math, and motion. If this sounds open-ended or vague, then you're somewhat correct, and that's what they want it to be. It allows for creativity in creating an educational pathway, all done by the students. For instance, I could study the mathematical formulas underlying frequency, pitch, and rhythm and break music down into numbers. Or, I could emphasize the opposite and try to create musical ideas from my own equations...sort of an auditory fractal. If my area of interest was completely different, I could incorporate that as well. For example, if I wanted to be a marine biologist, I could study the mating songs of whales and analyze them for patterns. Basically, this class sounds right up my alley; I'm really good at math, but I've never been able to enjoy it. By combining it with music, I think I'd really be motivated to put my energy into it.

Choice number two is "Mediaworks". Well, actually it's "Mediaworks In Context: Sustainability and Justice", but nobody says the whole name. This quarter is focusing on the previously mentioned themes of sustainability and justice pertaining to the environment. Again, students are encouraged to interpret this however they want and be creative with their projects. I went to the academic fair to see the faculty for this class and be interviewed for it, and it sounds interesting. It's geared more towards film students, but I figured that it's better to be well-rounded with my knowledge, especially if sound design for film is what I want to do.

Third on the list is the "Advanced Audio Production Workshop". While it's the most focused and "normal" of all my choices, it's also only eight credits. This means that I'd have to take some other evening and weekend part-time classes to get my required sixteen credits. Basically, this class continues where I leave off in Intro to Audio. I'll be honing my studio skills, learning more about microphone and speaker design, and studying acoustics in depth. It would really be nice to take this class and have room to study other things too, but I've heard that taking sixteen credits by way of multiple part-time classes instead of one full-time program is intensely hard since the workloads don't really get reduced at all. Still, it's definitely a good choice as far as my future goes, and it's a good fall-back if I don't get into the other two classes ::