Our student, faculty, & scholarship
applications are now online!
School of the Alternative is an experiment in education and community. SotA offers a socially integrated experience with intimate classes, communal living, and emphasis on shared labor. Instead of a traditional classroom environment, our campus supports a collectively built, self-directed approach to learning, which gives opportunity for all participants to learn and teach.
Students can apply to come for 1, 2, or 3 weeks, and faculty can apply to come for 1 or 2 weeks. We will learn, work, and live together on the same campus originally used by Black Mountain College, doing work service in the mornings (cooking meals, setting up classrooms, cleaning, working in the garden, maintaining our archive), and taking or teaching classes all afternoon.
OUR 3 WEEK SESSION WILL BE HELD: MAY 1ST-21ST
FACULTY DEADLINE: February 1st
SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE: February 22nd
STUDENT DEADLINE: March 1st *
*We will accept applications after 3/1 until all spots are filled, but we do encourage getting your application in by the 3/1 deadline for the best chance of joining us this May!
School of the Alternative offering
five Black Equity Scholarships
School of the Alternative is a space where radical new ideas are born. Spaces that - actively or passively - exclude oppressed people cannot produce radical ideas. We are committed to lifting up and holding space for marginalized and historically oppressed voices, whose rights and access are constantly threatened.
This year, we are offering 5 full one-week scholarships to Black students for our 2020 session. Thanks to a generous donation, we are able to more fully realize our intention of increased access through financial support.
We see the undeniable financial, bodily, psychological, metaphysical, and myriad other effects that white supremacy has on folx of color. We strive to foster a community that offers an alternative.
We are still learning and have a lot of work yet to do. What we do know for sure is that we want to hold space, learn alongside, and listen deeply to folx who are traditionally silenced by higher education. One of the ways SotA actively dismantles systems of oppression is by making this space more accessible to Black students. In stating our aim, we hold ourselves accountable to build an inclusive and equitable community, where all feel welcome and safe(r) to create, dream, collaborate, discover, and breathe.
