The Outside Students’ Application Process

Many have asked how I even got involved in such a programme, so this post will deal with how I stumbled upon Inside-Out at the University of Oregon (UO). Please note that I can only relate the Outside students’ (meaning UO students’) experience.

Quick background: I was at the UO for the terms Winter, Spring and Summer 2008 on an exchange. The exchange was between the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) University Scholars Programme (USP) and the UO’s Clark Honors College (CHC).

Inside-Out was pioneered at the UO through the CHC in Spring 2007 as a 200-level course. Professor Steven Shankman, the first UO professor to be trained in the programme, taught the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky in the class- Notes from the Underground, Crime and Punishment, for example.

In Winter 2008, advertisements in Chapman Hall (the CHC building) were put up, giving notice to an information session on the course (application was still restricted to UOCHC students, although I have heard that there are plans to open the programme to the rest of the University, which is great). Interested students were to meet at the Knight Library for a briefing and to pick up application forms. I was walking down from class one day when I saw the poster, and decided to go for the briefing with my then-roommate, Suzi.

We went for the briefing where we sat through a presentation about the programme, then had an informative question and answer session, where we were told that the course would be a 400-level Honors College Colloquium this time. (We were also told that we were going to read just one massive text this time, against philosophy, instead of a selection of Dostoevsky’s shorter works. This was received with mixed reactions at the time. Looking back, though, I wouldn’t've had it any other way). A student who had taken the class in Spring 2007 had come in to share her experiences as well.

Interested students had to pick up an application form, which basically had questions asking why the applicant was interested in the course, whether he/she had had any experience with prisons, how he/she may contribute to the programme.

Students were then shortlisted for interviews with Professor Shankman, where we were asked to elaborate on certain bits of our answers, and had the time to clarify any doubts and/or ask any questions. We were then told that we would get a confirmation via e-mail to let us know if our application was successful or otherwise.

The process ended when Professor Shankman selected 13 Outside students to participate in the programme (13 because there were to be the same number of Inside students as well).

As for the application process for the Inside students, I’m not quite sure of the details, but Professor Shankman had told us that it was similar- application forms, interviews. Of course, there were more stringent criteria for Inside students (e.g. record of good behaviour, non-sex offenders)- but more on that in another post.

Hope that was helpful for now! Just out of curiosity- would you have gone through the application process to take a course like Inside-Out?