CHESTER COLLEGE OF NEW ENGLAND
Chester, New Hampshire
The College
Chester College of New England offers students a foundation in the liberal and fine arts and a thorough preparation for careers in the professional arts. The College offers majors in arts and humanities, creative and professional writing, graphic design and illustration, photography and media arts, and studio art. The College also offers minors in creative writing, illustration, photojournalism, and professional writingpublishing as well as certification in art education. The programs are complementary. Students specialize in intersections among art, graphic design and illustration, photography, and the written word.
The low faculty-student ratio; artist/writer-in-residence programs; a robust program of visiting artists, exhibitions, art contests, and shows; internships; and relationships with professional associations complement and strengthen the College's offerings. The College's aim is to provide all students with the education, knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to become both thoughtful citizens and successful professionals.
Students at Chester College of New England find that the tranquil setting of the campus provides them with the kind of environment that is essential for creative inspiration, yet the College is close to Manchester and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Boston, Massachusettscities that are rich in history and culture. Students frequently travel to these cities to work at internship sites, visit galleries and museums, and attend an assortment of artistic performances. In addition, the College offers a study abroad program that is linked to the majors cited above.
Chester College of New England is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution. It is accredited to award the Bachelor of Arts degree and the Associate in Arts degree by the New Hampshire Postsecondary Education Commission and by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
The College has an enrollment of approximately 200 students. Although the ages of students range from 17 to 35, the average age of students is 19. Most of these students live on campus, but a number of students enroll as commuters. All resident students are full-time. Commuters may choose to enroll on a full-time or part-time basis. The classroom student-teacher ratio is very low, approximately 10:1, which allows for a great deal of personalized instruction. The College believes that this sort of interaction is critical, given its focus on the liberal and fine arts.
A new residence hall opened recently. This coeducational residence can house 102 students and has lounge areas, laundry facilities, a game room, and a studio open 24 hours a day, seven days per week. It is conveniently located near all academic and studio facilities.
The Dining Commons provides meals for students, faculty and staff members, and visitors. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served in this facility seven days a week during the academic year and for portions of the summer session as well.
Extracurricular programs are designed to enhance and enrich the learning experience, and students are expected to be active members of the campus community, both in and out of the classroom.
Location
Chester College of New England offers the aspiring artist a natural setting that nurtures both artistic and intellectual development. The campus is situated on 75 acres in the center of Chester, New Hampshire, a classic rural New England town near Manchester, New Hampshire, and just a short drive from the state's beaches and ski resorts. The campus buildings are a mixture of restored eighteenth-century houses and new buildings that preserve the feel of Colonial New England while providing modern conveniences and spaces appropriate for classroom learning and artistic creation. Many of the houses in the vicinity of the College are beautifully maintained antique homes from the Colonial, Federal, and Victorian periods. The town square, only a few hundred yards from the campus, includes a classic white Colonial church, the town hall, and a general store.
Majors and Degrees
The College offers a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in arts and humanities, creative and professional writing, graphic design and illustration, photography and media arts, and studio art. Minors are offered in creative writing, photojournalism, professional writingpublishing, and illustration. Those interested in art education can also complete an art education certification program.
Academic Programs
The arts foundation courses introduce students to the majors offered and provide the concepts, vocabularies, and insight that are essential preparation for further study. Foundation courses emphasize verbal, visual, technical, and written skills. The foundation curriculum is carefully sequenced to provide varied and complementary courses that interact with other foundation courses, as well as with the liberal arts component of the curriculum.
Close acquaintance with the liberal arts sharpens students' oral and written communication skills; provides them with opportunities to explore historical, social, and scientific contexts and concepts; and develops an appreciation of ideas and experiences that form the basis of all human endeavors. The liberal arts component of an education at Chester College of New England begins by establishing a foundation in English composition, art history, and the humanities. Students then move on to explore three traditional and challenging areas of studythe sciences, the social sciences, and historyand explore the liberal arts in greater depth by choosing from a variety of course offerings, some of them at the upper level.
The curriculum integrates courses in the liberal arts, fine arts, and professional arts throughout the undergraduate experience, along with opportunities to learn from and interact with a faculty of practicing professional artists, designers, photographers, and writers. The College's internship program and Student Success Center prepare students to enter their chosen professional fields with the appropriate knowledge, skills, experience, and preparation to succeed.
The programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree require a minimum of 120 credits; the Associate in Arts degree in liberal studies requires a minimum of 60 credits.
Chester College of New England follows a traditional academic calendar of two semesters. Summer-session courses are optional. Fall semester generally begins at the end of August; spring semester begins in early January.
Academic Facilities
Office, classroom, and living spaces on campus are relatively compact and create a comfortable environment for highly personalized interaction. The largest classroom holds no more than 40 people, and classes at the College rarely exceed 15 students.
The Photography Studio is located in the Photo Barn and includes a darkroom with multiple workstations for black-and-white and color printing. Separate studio areas are provided. In the exhibit areas, each student has the opportunity to have photography selected for display for the benefit and enjoyment of fellow students and the community.
Douglas Hall, a renovated governor's mansion, currently houses art, drawing, graphic arts, and sculpture studios as well as three general-purpose classrooms and computer laboratories.
Wadleigh Library provides academic research support for the programs offered on campus. The library also provides individual study carrels, study space in the reference and other areas, meeting spaces for study groups, a computer design laboratory, and a small auditorium for lectures and presentations. The College's Student Success Center, also housed in the library, is intended to help students succeed not only academically, but also in their decisions about future career paths.
The graphic design computer classroom provides Macintosh computers for graphic design, digital imaging, and advertising classes, using state-of-the-art software. In addition, Wadleigh Library houses networked personal computers and printers specifically for student use. These machines are equipped with current releases of word processing software.
Each student is permitted to have one car on campus, and parking is provided for a $35 annual fee. The College provides occasional transportation to Manchester, Portsmouth, and Boston and to recreational sites.
Costs
In 200405, tuition for full-time students was $12,900. Room and board (double room) were $7000. Tuition per credit hour for full-time students, part-time students (8 to 11 credits per semester), and study-abroad students was $430. Photography majors should anticipate book and supply expenditures of $700 per semester ($400 per semester for other majors). Other charges included a semester service fee of $135, a technology fee of $130, a summer session fee of $260 per credit hour, a parking fee of $35, and a freshman-orientation fee of $90.
Financial Aid
Chester College of New England is dedicated to helping its students determine the best possible means for financing their educations and offers advice to students and their families regardless of income level. Through its programs of need- and merit-based financial assistance, the College makes every effort possible to assist students who wish to attend. These programs consist of loans, grants, work-study jobs, and scholarships. The College offers opportunities through federal financial aid programs that include the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Stafford Student Loan, Federal Work-Study Program, and PLUS loans. The College also offers merit scholarships to incoming students up to full tuition for up to four years of study. More than 85 percent of the students at Chester College receive some form of financial aid.
Faculty
The faculty is made up of both full- and part-time instructors who are master teachers and working artists and professionals. Faculty members participate in advising students in curriculum and career planning and act in supervisory capacities for internships.
Student Government
Student Government members, in consultation with the director of student services, plan and schedule activities and events for the academic year. The campus calendar offers numerous events, including dramatic performances, skiing and snowboarding trips, art and photography exhibits, dances, musical performances, and lectures and discussion groups concerning important social and political issues.
Admission Requirements
Chester College of New England is a small college by design and enrolls limited-size classes of highly talented women and men in its Bachelor of Arts and Associate in Arts programs. The College admits freshmen and transfer students and seeks a diverse student body. Students may be admitted for the September and January semesters. Applicants for admission to either program are judged by many criteria, including academic performance, artistic achievements and potential, extracurricular accomplishments and activities, communication skills (both oral and written), standardized test scores (SAT I or ACT), energy and determination, and portfolio quality.
The College recommends but does not require the submission of SAT or ACT scores. Students who do not submit test scores are not penalized in the admission process.
Admission requirements include submitting a completed application form (either paper or the online version, which is available at http://www.chestercollege.edu/apply), the $35 application fee, official copies of transcripts from all secondary schools and any colleges or universities attended, three letters of recommendation, and a written personal statement. A personal interview is required, either in person or via telephone.
Depending on the student's choice of major, artistic achievement may be a significant factor in the admission decision. Also, a number of scholarships are available that are based primarily on the student's artistic accomplishment. For these reasons, while the College does not require the submission of a portfolio, it is strongly recommended.
Students are encouraged to arrange for a campus visit and tour, which provides an important opportunity to gain valuable firsthand knowledge of Chester College.
Application and Information
Chester College of New England operates on a rolling admissions basis. Students are notified of a decision within two weeks after they have completed the admission requirements. There is no application deadline; however, students are encouraged to submit applications no later than April1 for fall admission and no later than December1 for spring admission.
For more information, students should contact:
