Overview
Music, Art, History, and Skiing in Castleton, Vermont
Rich in history, Castleton, Vermont, is known for being a site of activity for the American Revolution's Green Mountain Boys. Castleton is home to Vermont's oldest college, Castleton State College, which is also the nation's 18th oldest college. Just to the west of its downtown area lies Lake Bomoseen, and the city is less than an hour's driving distance away from some of Vermont's finest ski and snowboarding resorts, including Bromley Mountain, Okemo Mountain, Magic Mountain, Stratton Mountain, Pic, and Suicide Six.
This scenic and quiet community is located near the border of New York and is the area's hub of history, activity, and education. Local points of interest include the Blue Shoe Gallery, Equinox Antiques, Farrow Gallery, Hubbardton Battlefield, Merwin Gallery, and Pond Hill Ranch. Students of Castleton State College enjoy the annual Concert on the Green, a series of summer concerts held outside featuring music in genres including country, blues, ragtime, pop, gospel, Dixieland, brass bands, barbershop, honky-tonk, and oldies.
Burlington, New York City, Boston, and Montreal are only a short distance away and are accessible in an easy handful of hours by train or bus. Temperatures in Castleton, Vermont, range in the neighborhood of 14 degrees in the winter to about 70 degrees in the summer.
Wide Range of Activities and Facilities at Castleton State College
Founded in 1787, Castleton State College has a 165-acre campus and is host to close to 2,000 full-time undergraduate students. The four-year college offers 30 academic programs in liberal arts, sciences, and career and professional preparation.
There are more than 40 student organizations and clubs at Castleton State College, including rugby, an outing club, a campus radio station, student newspaper, and many club sports. The college's 20 varsity sports compete in the NCAA Division III as well as the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association. Castleton State offers 225 computers for student use throughout its residence halls, all of which are wired for Internet and have access to campus e-mail.
Campus facilities include a 160,000 volume-strong library; 10 residence halls with cable access, telephone access, Internet access, and laundry facilities; Hudson Dining Hall; a newly enlarged science center; a recently renovated Campus Center; a gymnasium; and a fitness center.
Castleton State College Academic Opportunities
Castleton State College offers its students an education based on career preparation and the principles of liberal arts. The school is most well known for its Soundings program, where first-year students are required to attend a series of school functions in order to obtain academic credits. These events range from dance and theater to speeches by world-famous leaders.
Castleton State College offers B.S. and B.A. degrees in specialties including world literature, theater arts, sports administration, special education, Spanish, sociology, social work, journalism, history, geology, forensic psychology, exercise science, environmental science, elementary education, ecological studies, biology, children's literature, computer information systems, American literature, and accounting. Students are not required to declare a major until the end of their sophomore year.
The average Castleton State College student enrolls in five courses per semester; each semester is 15 weeks long. Students have access to field experience and internships in an assortment of areas including education, social work, criminal justice, and communication.
Castleton State College also offers a third-party study abroad program, where students can receive credit for enrolling in a third-party study abroad. The college prefers that students enroll in a non-profit educational institution's program and take courses at a host university.
