Summer Bridge Program
Albion College is offering a unique four-week Summer Bridge experience for first-year students from July 21-August 19.
Participants who enroll and complete the Summer Bridge earn one free Albion College unit and free textbooks for their first year!
Here are just some of the highlights:
- Earn one of the 30 units needed to graduate from Albion unit in just four weeks! (All courses count towards graduation requirements.)
- Choose from one of four innovative courses in anthropology, food and the environment, arts integrated learning, history of cultural conflict, or take the TRIO track, which includes a series of courses on writing, wellness, finances, and more to prepare you for success in college. Each course will introduce you to contemporary topics in the specific field and take you beyond the classroom to explore museum exhibits, engage in service projects in the community, collect and present data, and so much more!
- The summer bridge is a residential program, with all participants living on campus and engaged all day, Monday through Saturday. Room and all meals are provided.
- Take a variety of field trips and outings with fellow students.
- Upon successful completion of the Summer Bridge, you will earn one unit towards graduation and free Brit Books (Albion’s textbook rental program) for your first year at Albion College for a total savings of over $600!
What’s more? Participants will gain early access to campus resources and programs, building connections with faculty and staff and your Bridge cohort, and begin to map out a plan to meet your academic and career goals.
Incoming students must submit their enrollment deposit (deadline: June 1) and secure their spot in the Class of 2029 before enrolling in the Summer Bridge.
Submit Your Enrollment Deposit
Summer Bridge 2025 Courses
July 21-August 19
ANTH 105 – An Introduction to Anthropology
Faculty: Allison Harnish
Graduation Requirement: Historical and Cultural Analysis mode (MHC)
Summary: This course introduces students to anthropology, a discipline dedicated to understanding, in the broadest sense, what it means to be human. As we explore human biology, culture, language, and artifacts we will also examine identity and inequality with units on race, gender, class, and environment. These units will do what anthropology does best: bust myths and dispel stereotypes. Through the lens of anthropology, we’ll “make the strange familiar” by finding our common humanity and appreciating beliefs and behaviors that differ from our own. At the same time, we will “make the familiar strange” by critically examining aspects of our own culture that we may have never questioned before. As part of their coursework, students will visit four local museums and complete a service project in Albion College’s Whitehouse Nature Center. Along the way, they will develop critical thinking, cultural awareness, and other skills that support their academic success and personal growth in college.
ENVN 189 – Food & the Environment
Faculty: Kevin Metz
Graduation Requirement: Environmental Studies category (YEN)
Summary: This class will be a systematic examination of the intersection of food and the environment, at home and around the world. That means, in this class we will explore how the local environment lends itself to establishing and supporting local food cultures. We will work to understand international food cultures as well as our own. Then we will examine how the world’s growing population, human migration into cities, and global climate change are impacting our food production and consumption. That is, we will look at what will need to change in order for the world’s growing population to be fed. To do so, we will learn about changing agricultural practices, changing diets, and engineered foods. Students will design and carry our research projects in these areas.
HIST 189: Playing History: Cultures in Conflict in Early America
Faculty: Marcy Sacks
Graduation Requirement: Ethnicity category (YEH)
Summary: This course introduces students to the multicultural world of early America – before the United States became a country. Europeans, Africans, and indigenous people found themselves in conflict (and sometimes cooperation) with one another. We will explore this world via game play. Using two immersive role-playing simulations, students will become participants in life on the western frontier of the British American colonies.
In the game Bacon’s Rebellion, 1676-1677: Race, Class, and Frontier Conflict in Colonial Virginia, students will go on a historical journey into the origins of race-based slavery in America. And in the game Forest Diplomacy: Cultures in Conflict on the Pennsylvania Frontier, 1757, students will participate in peace negotiations between Delaware Indians and Pennsylvanians who are engaged in a vicious and destructive war in the region.
By engaging in role play, you will experience history rather than simply learn it. Along the way, you will develop your skills in public speaking, writing (speeches and newspaper articles), negotiations, strategizing, and (above all) critical thinking.
This course fulfills the ethnicity category requirement of the core curriculum and one unit of a History major or minor.
IDY 262 – Arts Integrated Learning
Faculty: Kyle D Shanton
Graduation Requirement: Artistic Creation and Analysis mode (MAC)
Summary: This course introduces students to the Education Department and Fritz Shurmur Center for Teacher Development. The focus is on developing new understandings of how to make learning much more accessible, equitable, and welcoming to all by using five kinds of arts (i.e., 2-D visual, 3-D visual, dance-movement, instrumental-vocal music, and theater) as tools for literacy and mathematics learning. In this course, you will explore the five arts in workshops on campus with peers and the professor as well as participate in a clinical experience centered around serving small groups of children and their families from the local community at Kids N Stuff (KNS) Museum in downtown Albion. Albion College students will: (1) explore the five arts, artists with critical acclaim for their work in these arts, methods to facilitate children’s learning of literacy and math through these arts; and, (2) prepare and present a synthesis of their learning at the Summer Bridge Symposium.
TRIO Track: Summer Bridge to College
Requires qualifying & acceptance into the TRIO program; TRIO track is four (4) 0.25 unit courses, adding up to 1.0 unit. For more information contact Jennifer Yawson: [email protected].
Bridge to College Writing (0.25 unit)
The Bridge to College Writing course provides incoming first-year students with a social and playful environment to start their transition into college-level writing. Far from grammar drills or essay exams, this course introduces students to the various writing purposes, genres, and technologies they can expect to encounter as a college student. This includes hands-on practice interpreting assignment expectations from across departments, creating and submitting online documents, and experimenting with writing strategies to aid with reading, studying, and (of course) composing academic papers. Students will benefit from a combination of game-based learning and independent reflection as they develop self-awareness and confidence as a college writer.
Bridge to College Success (0.25 unit)
The Bridge to College Success Course is designed to equip incoming first-year Albion College students with the essential “street skills” and knowledge needed to thrive both academically and personally as a Briton. The course will provide insights on key strategies for academic success through: study habits and techniques, effective time management and scheduling, goal setting, communicating with professors, engaging with course material, class preparation, locating and utilizing appropriate on-campus offices/services, and more. Through hands-on experiences, short lessons, on-campus field trips, and group discussions, students will gain practical tools to enhance their college experience and achieve their educational goals. This course will be a stepping stone towards a successful and fulfilling college journey.
Bridge to College Wellness (0.25 unit)
Bridge to College Wellness, this introductory short-course is designed to support incoming first-year Albion College students through learning and practice of behaviors and strategies to maintain and improve physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being during their time as a Brit. Transitioning to life at college can be both exciting and stressful, and learning how to manage personal health during this transition can be crucial for overall success. The course will offer practical insights into nutrition, exercise, stress management, sleep, hygiene, mental health, and spiritual health. In addition to visiting and learning about the various services offered on campus, students will engage in short lessons, group discussions, self-reflection, experiential learning, and ultimately create a personalized wellness plan to help them sustain a balanced and healthy lifestyle aimed at excelling both inside and outside of the classroom.
Bridge to College Financial Foundations (0.25 unit)
The Bridge to College Financial Foundations equips students with the knowledge and tools they need to navigate the financial aspects of their college experience including budgeting basics, language and rules related to financial aid and scholarship awards, and academic resource management (e.g. dining packages; textbooks, etc.). By the end of the course, students should feel confident in managing their finances, understanding their financial aid packages, and making informed decisions about expenses related to college life.