Welcome to The Evergreen State College

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A Distinctive Public College

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Welcome to The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. My name is Erin and I'm here to tell you about this distinctive public, four-year liberal arts college. Evergreen's dynamic, team-taught, theme-based curriculum examines real world issues. In addition to the academic programs, you can develop an individual learning contract or an internship to take advantage of the practical ways to gain knowledge and learn new skills. Evergreen's narrative evaluation will replace your report card. This evaluation will highlight your progress and inform graduate schools and future employers of your unique qualities.

Welcome Woman and Red Square

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This is the Library Bus Loop and a great place to start your campus tour. The 12-foot tall "Welcoming Woman" was a gift made to the college over 25 years ago by the Native American Studies program. This cedar carving is traditional among the Salish people. Most of the class rooms, lecture halls, and meeting spaces are in these buildings just off of Red Square. On any given day, Red Square is the place for classes to meet, for you to hangout and read, or listen to musicians. And, it's the site for graduation ceremonies in June. Use the arrows above to navigate around Evergreen.

Lab Buildings

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Along with laboratory classrooms in Lab One, you'll find natural history and natural science collections and the Lab Stores - where you can purchase your lab materials. Lab One is a LEED Certified Silver building. After gaining equipment proficiency, undergraduate students can use the microscopy facilities, auto-montage and electron scanning microscopes. Undergraduate access to specialized equipment is another unique benefit offered at Evergreen.The CAL – or Computer Applications Lab – refers to two laboratory spaces where you will find twenty-six computers that have been modified to accommodate immediate data acquisition and analysis. In addition to the CAL in Lab Two you'll find the neon light studio for neon glass shaping. Chemistry and geology labs, metal and print studios are also located here.

College Activities Building

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The CAB is a-buzz. Grab something to eat, stock up on class supplies, meet up with friends in the Student Activities office, or listen to KAOS 89.3F-M, a non-commercial community radio station. Recently remodeled, the CAB is remarkable for its innovative energy and environmental design which earned it LEED Gold Certification.

Library Building

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The Library Building includes the library and media services as well as the Evergreen Gallery. You'll find academic advising and student support services here, too. Check out the Writing Center for help with your research papers. Need assistance with your math or science program for the quarter? QuASR (Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning) Center tutors are ready to schedule your tutoring sessions. Borrow audio and visual equipment, as well as digital cameras, from Media Loan. And, the home for computing for every Evergreen student is the Computer Center. After your proficiency training, you'll be able to access one of the best wet and digital photography facilities on the west coast. If you are enrolled in media studies, your program might use the Center for Creative and Applied Media - or CCAM. This 10,000 square-foot space is fully equipped with a soundstage, multi-camera HD video studio, cable and Internet broadcasting facility, surround audio recording and mixing suite and experimental effects lab.

Purce Hall

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There are five lecture halls in this building with seating capacity for 75 to 300 people.

Seminar Two Complex

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Seminar Two is a large, five building cluster with classrooms and lecture halls, and faculty offices designed to support Evergreen's integrated teaching and learning style. There's a small café here, too. This complex was the first publicly funded LEED Certified Gold building in Washington state.

College Recreation Center

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Come to the CRC to watch the Fighting Geoducks take on basketball and volleyball opponents. Go Evergreen! There's also an eleven-lane swimming pool and diving tank, plus five handball courts, weight and cardio rooms and a fierce climbing wall. Check out a basketball for a game of HORSE or a pair of snowshoes for your Mount Rainier trek.

Communications Building

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The Comm Building houses the Recital Hall, dance/theater rehearsal rooms, 16- and 8-track recording facilities, electronic music studios, post-production film and animation facilities.

Interdisciplinary Studies

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Hi, I thought I'd meet you here to tell you a little more about Evergreen's curriculum. Instead a taking four or five separate courses each quarter, you'll take one program that unifies these courses around a central theme. This single program may be taught by two or three professors who have different academic backgrounds. These professors are your faculty team. This approach is called interdisciplinary coordinated studies. "Interdisciplinary" because your faculty team and academic program will combine the study of multiple academic disciplines emphasizing the relationships between academic fields. And, "coordinated" because all your academic work will be organized around the central theme or question of your academic program. This approach to teaching and learning sets Evergreen apart from other liberal arts colleges. Since you do all of your academic work in one program, your faculty team will know how much work is being assigned to you, so there's no possibility of several tests on the same day or needing to choose between a field trip and a conflicting class.

Arts Annex

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Are you interested in large, 3-dimensional art? The Arts Annex is where you might hone your skills in wood, glass, clay and stone work. The outdoor casting area has four kilns. The critique room is conveniently located near the studios.

Organic Farm

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The farm is dedicated to agricultural and ecological studies. The farm includes the sustainable agriculture lab, community gardens, and farm compost facility. The greenhouses and 38,000 square feet of production area function as a learning laboratory focused on small-scale organic agriculture. The Organic Farm is Certified Organic and is Salmon Safe Certified.

Indigenous Arts Campus

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Opened in 1995 the Longhouse Education and Cultural Center is the first building of its kind on any U.S. college or university campus. Traditional Native American Indian longhouses served as the community center for families and villages along the Pacific Northwest. The thunderbird is seen as the giver of knowledge. Carvers Greg Colfax (Makah) and Andy Wilbur-Peterson (Skokomish), class of 1987, were assisted by students in the Native Studies program.

Forest and Beach

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Evergreen's beach is 3,300-feet of unspoiled waterfront on the Puget Sound. This is the perfect place for scientific field research and inspiring creative work. The trail and the beach also make a nice nature walk.

Narrative Evaluations

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Evergreen's collaborative learning environment will allow you to reflect on your academic achievements in a very unique way. Because your learning is too important to be reduced to an arbitrary number or letter grade, you'll receive a narrative evaluation from your professors. Your professors will detail your accomplishments, list subject areas you studied and assign the credits you earn toward your bachelor's degree. Narrative evaluations give graduate schools and employers a comprehensive picture of your undergraduate education.

Housing

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Almost 1,000 students live in the residence halls, including nearly all of the freshman class. Freshman halls provide a great living learning environment with access to hang out and gaming spaces, TV lounges, and frequent organized social events. In housing you're always a short walk from main campus, and you're right around the corner from the Housing Community Center with its convenience store, laundry room, mail room, and social space.

Housing Community Center

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Pick up your mail, do your laundry or hang out and watch TV in the Housing Community Center. The Corner Store provides snack foods, beverages, heat and serve, grab and go eats as well as household items.

Visit Evergreen and See Olympia for Yourself

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Thank you so much for taking this virtual tour of Evergreen. When you visit the campus, you'll check-in here, at the Office of Admissions. Join other visitors for an Evergreen Information Session then, take the guided walking tour of campus. If you want an insider's view of life at Evergreen, visit us between October and May for an Overnight Stay and a Class Visit. You can spend a night in a residence hall and go to class with a student. While you're here, check out downtown Olympia, too.