About the College

Birmingham-Southern College—also known to students and faculty as the Hilltop—is a four-year, private liberal arts college situated on 192 acres on the western edge of Birmingham, Alabama. We have an enrollment of about 1,400 students from 30 states and 8 countries; our average student-to-teacher ratio is 12:1. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, BSC offers students a wide variety of majors and special programs.

For more information about BSC, please visit the “About BSC” section of the Birmingham-Southern College website.

About Interim Term at BSC

Birmingham-Southern operates on a 4-1-4 semester system—our fall semester lasts for 4 months, our winter term (called Interim) for 1 month, and spring for another 4 months. Interim term offers students a chance to explore a subject or area of interest beyond the bounds of their usual course of major study. Interim’s focus on experiential learning and independent study also takes students out of the traditional classroom setting and immerses them in hands-on experiences both on- and off-campus—sometimes as far off campus as the Pacific Northwest, Italy, or the Caribbean Sea.

For more information about Interim term, please visit the “Interim Term at BSC” page under the Interim and Contract Learning section, a part of the Birmingham-Southern College website.

About Contracting an Interim Project

Some students choose to contract a class that they create and help to plan, like the BBQ Boys. To contract a class or an independent study, students seek out a faculty sponsor who works in the field they wish to study, then work with that faculty member to develop a suitable contract that clearly outlines course goals, projected outcomes, and grading methods.

Our class, specifically, is a study in travel and food writing organized around a blog and incorporating visual components to help further the narrative. In this case, the BBQ Boys came up with the initial idea of tasting BBQ and writing about it, then mapped out the route they wanted to take; they also contacted experienced people beyond the college who suggested readings and venues. Their sponsor helped them put the writing they wanted to do into context with other writing, helped them shape a reading list, and outlined what she would be looking for in daily work and a final project. This project exemplifies the level of individual control and academic collaborations students can experience through contract learning.

Contract learning also allows for students to contract courses during the Fall or Spring terms in addition to Interim. Moreover, students who wish to participate in an internship for academic credit can do so through the Office of Interim and Contract Learning. For more information, please visit the “Contract Learning Center” page under the Interim and Contract Learning section, a part of the Birmingham-Southern College website.

About Visiting BSC

Interested in visiting out campus and learning more? Check out our Admissions Office “Future Students” page to learn how!