Spring Term
Immerse yourself in something extraordinary.
Spring Term at Alma College is more than a course, it’s an opportunity to dive deeply into a single subject through hands-on, experiential learning. During Spring Term, immersive learning takes many forms—from faculty-led study abroad courses and field research to community-based projects and professional or creative intensives.
With no competing classes or academic demands, students can fully engage in a concentrated learning experience that goes beyond the traditional classroom. Spring Term encourages curiosity, discovery, and meaningful connections while helping students develop skills and memories that last a lifetime.
Spring Term consists of one three-credit course. All Alma students must complete two Spring Term courses to graduate. Transfer students entering with 25 or more credits are required to complete one Spring Term course.
Where Will Spring Term Take You?
About one-third of Spring Term courses involve travel, and offerings rotate each year, giving students new opportunities to explore, discover, and engage in experiences far beyond the traditional classroom. The following are examples of past Spring Term adventures.
Maestros of War
Teacher Leader
While visiting Disney World in Orlando, Florida, students engage in hands-on workshops and experiential programs designed to improve skills in crafting learning environments for PK-12 students.
Food, Clothes and Cultural Diversity
In Washington, D.C., student learn about and analyze how diverse types of food and clothes trace the historical development of cultural traditions and diversity in American society.
Origins of Psychology
In Austria, students visit the home of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, and explore the historical, cultural, and societal events that resulted in the development of modern psychology.
Funding your Spring Term Experience
Travel can be expensive, so many students choose to apply for an Alma Venture grant to help cover the cost of an off-campus Spring Term course.
Additionally, the Financial Aid office will work individually with students seeking outside resources, including loans and external scholarships, that can apply to the Spring Term experience.
Student Perspectives
I went to Costa Rica for Spring Term to study poison dart frogs, and I ended up being asked about it during the graduate school interview process. It’s really beneficial for undergraduates to have something like that on their applications.
I did a Spring Term at Disney World, in Orlando, Fla., called "Teacher Leader." It was a lot of fun, but it was also a really important class, something that taught us all the difference between being an ordinary teacher and being a "teacher leader." I’ll never forget those lessons.
I went to Costa Rica for Spring Term to study poison dart frogs, and I ended up being asked about it during the graduate school interview process. It’s really beneficial for undergraduates to have something like that on their applications.
I did a Spring Term at Disney World, in Orlando, Fla., called "Teacher Leader." It was a lot of fun, but it was also a really important class, something that taught us all the difference between being an ordinary teacher and being a "teacher leader." I’ll never forget those lessons.