It’s partly because of the ocean

No matter where you are on campus, the ocean is always a few steps away. You’ll smell the salt air when you wake up in the morning, learn the cycles of the tides, and watch the color of the water and the patterns of the waves change with the seasons and the weather. Sometimes all it takes is one deep breath to let all that water remind you of the vastness of the world.

It’s also about size and scale

We’re intentionally small and community-focused, and you can feel that on campus. Meals in the dining hall (TAB) are welcoming and lively, with faculty, staff, and students eating and conversing together. Our classrooms are set up for discussion and engagement among small groups of 10–20.

And there’s something about the feel of the place

Dusk over a snowy campus.Maybe it has to do with natural materials, and human-scale structures, and a little bit of wildness in the midst of the everyday.

Our buildings are a combination of rustic former cottages and newer green construction—you’ll see plenty of weathered wood shingles, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find any institutional-feeling bricks or cinder blocks. The main campus landmark is a giant finback whale skull. There are tucked-away gardens, old stone walls, incredible trees, canoes and kayak racks, and people smiling and saying hello to each other.

It’s hard to describe, but it’s palpable; you’ll just have to visit campus and see for yourself. Or check out our interactive campus map for a sneak peak….

Interactive campus map: 

Campus map interactive