Student Experience

Welcome

Our school is a place for people just like you: unique, passionate, expressive, curious, engaged, purposeful, and— most of all—individual. Take a look around and explore what makes Field “like school, but better.” You’ll learn not only how you fit in, but also how you can make Field an even richer place for all its students and teachers!

5:1

Student:teacher ratio

5-10

Typical class size

# of Immersive courses you’ll dive into each year

# of Expeditions you and your classmates will embark on

Humanities

Humanities courses are interdisciplinary and begin with the history and culture of the American West, expanding outward to include the whole of the United States and, ultimately, the entire globe. You’ll learn about your world through close study of books, maps, movies and music, as well as primary sources. You’ll hone research and analytical skills that empower you as an effective communicator, curious learner, and informed citizen.

Math is everywhere — on the soccer field, in the shape of a flower petal, in your personal finance, and even on a packet of Ramen noodles. At Bozeman Field School, you’ll learn not only arithmetic tools required for rigorous future academic study but also the “applied math” of daily living: understanding financial transactions and investing, calculating materials needed for home improvement projects, planning trips, testing results for reasonability, and using technology appropriately. Students discover themselves as the source of mathematical knowledge—spending more time at the whiteboard than the teacher, engaging more often with real-world problems than with textbooks, and transforming math from a mystifying foreign language to a helpful companion.

Math

Science

Life sciences, physical sciences, earth systems… Science through an integrated science curriculum derived from the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Working on these skills through labs, field experiences, and classwork gives you a chance to practice “doing science” in a relevant, real-world context. Upon completion of the program, you will have gained sufficient knowledge of the practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, to be a critical consumer of scientific information related to your everyday life, and to continue to learn about science throughout your life.

Our Spanish curriculum embodies what it means to be a traveler as opposed to a tourist. Whereas the tourist focuses on sightseeing, cramming as much as possible into a compressed time, the traveler seeks to become immersed deeply in a culture and understand the world through fresh perspectives. That is the mindset you’re encouraged to embrace as you study Spanish at Field: a deeper experience of language culminating in school-sponsored travel to a Spanish-speaking country such as the Dominican Republic, Spain, or Peru.

Language

Health & Wellness

You have questions. We have conversations. Field’s Health and Wellness class is based on the questions our students have — from how to heal from an injury to human sexuality to cycles of sleep and abnormal psychology, we talk about the topics you are curious about.

Immersives

per week

hour blocks

courses per year

We bring in expert practitioners from the community and get you off campus and immersed in the topics you’re really curious about.

Immersives are 7-week, deep-dive classes into exciting and eye-opening topics—many of which you probably never thought you could study at school!

Actor’s Toolbox (Theater)
Aerial Arts
Analog Photography
Applied Music-making
Bouldering Wall Design & Construction
Branding and Marketing
Character from Page to Stage
Confucianism and the Succession Crisis of the Wanli Emperor (Historical Role-play)
Creative Writing
Creative Engineering Design
Drawing
Explore the Core
Gender Studies
Glass Art
Introduction to Guiding
Introduction to Programming in Python
Journalism
Karate
Lens and Landscape (Digital Photography)
Meditation & Mindfulness
Midterm Elections of 2018
Mobile App Design
Naturalist’s Guide to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Northern Plains Tribes of Montana
Patriots, Loyalists, and Revolution (Historical Role-play)
Plein Air Painting & Outdoor Art
Race & Identity
Robotics
The Science of Laughter
Sheep to Shawl
Songwriting and Digital Music Recording
Ukulele
Upcycling
Zumba

Expeditions

Trips per year

4-11

days on location

Locations to date

What if you could learn about geology and oceanography, Native American art and endangered species recovery, land-use policy and the history of our national parks—without stepping into the classroom? Bozeman Field School leads Expeditions to places like the red rock canyons of southern Utah, the mining complexes of Butte, and the sprawling beaches and rain forests of the Olympic Peninsula. As a Field student, you’ll learn by experience—living and doing in the full immersion of your subject matter.

Past expeditions include:

Citizen science research in partnership with Yellowstone Forever in Yellowstone National Park
Canoeing the Upper Missouri River Breaks with Montana Wilderness School
Backpacking in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness, studying snow science and winter ecology at Jack Creek Preserve
Learning about bison reintroduction and doing riparian (stream) restoration at the American Prairie Reserve.

January-term & Internship

During January, we take three weeks between semesters to dive deep! Whether you choose courses from our Winter Study curriculum (see samples below), pursue an area of personal interest via independent study, or design an internship (also below), “J-term” is when we step outside our already not-so-normal day-to-day and refresh for the dive back into spring semester.

Winter Study Curriculum

Example Winter Study curriculum offerings have included:

History and Science of Ski Technology
Studio Photography
Tiny House Construction
Yoga
Scene Study with Verge Theater
Meditation and Mindfulness
Advanced 3D Modeling
Podcasting
Adventure Travel Filmmaking
The American West in Film
Making, Breaking, Fixing & Maintaining Outdoor Gear
Strength and Conditioning

Internships

Field students have gained real-world experience at places like:

Montana Equine Medical and Surgical Center
Museum of the Rockies
Western Sustainability Exchange
Raven Forge (blacksmithing)
Gallatin Valley Vet Clinic

Capstone

Have you ever dreamed of studying something that wasn’t in the traditional high school course catalogue? Capstone is an opportunity to really drive your education, explore something that matters to you, and create something truly representative of the passion you have and the learning you’ve done. During junior and senior year, you’ll work closely with your faculty advisor, and sometimes a mentor(s) from the community, to go from proposal to planning to execution of a master project for public exhibition. You’ll develop expertise and concrete skills along with long term project planning and management skills that you will carry with you after graduation. This is what education in your hands looks like.

Advisory

Community is the center of the Field culture, and 360-degree relationships are at the center of our community. To promote peer and faculty interactions, each student joins an Advisory Group—4 to 6 students work with one faculty member for weekly goal-setting, team-building, and academic and social support.

Athletics

As a Field student, you can pursue Bozeman’s numerous options in organized athletics. These include club sports such as hockey, soccer and lacrosse–as well as participation in public school sports programs. Under Montana law, private school students may try out for and then compete in interscholastic sports at the public high schools. In the past, Field students have also played for state champion teams at other private schools, and traveled regionally for individual competitions in both Freeride and Nordic skiing.

Advanced Coursework

The Field campus is purposefully adjacent to MSU. Why? Because as many as a third of our upper class students take college classes there. For students ready for this challenge, university coursework offers many advantages: a rich catalog of courses, developing college-level study habits, participating in study groups, developing bonds with professors, and conducting university-level research. It’s a preview of college life, with the high school support network still in place.

Service

We get out of the classroom and step out of our own experience to help with trail building, playground updates, litter pick up, ESL language support, and anything else we can do to get our hands dirty and build deep connection to the community we live and play in. Bozeman isn’t just about what it gives us, but what we can give back.