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Can you tell us about the Tri-Co Philly Program—where the name comes from, and what inspired its creation? 

ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ is part of the Tri-College Consortium, the Tri-Co for short. The consortium includes Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges. This partnership expands the opportunities at Bryn Mawr because Bryn Mawr students can take classes not only at Bryn Mawr, but also at Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges. Tri-College Consortium Philly Program, or Tri-Co Philly Program, brings together students from these schools to engage with the city of Philadelphia. Students take experiential, urban-focused courses, with Philadelphia as their classroom, and together participate in extra-curricular activities exploring the city. This program was created to connect students and faculty with the amazing experiences Philadelphia has to offer.   

Can you describe what a typical day or week might involve when taking a Tri-Co Philly course? 

A student in the program goes into the city 2-3 times a week. Students take a train into the city for class in the afternoon. A student in the program takes two courses, so they go into the city twice a week for class. The program has a home base –classroom and office – at the Friends Center, which is centrally located. On any day, a class might be off on a field trip within the city, getting a guided tour of a museum, meeting with a community organization, taking a tour of a neighborhood, meeting with an artist or getting a behind-the-scenes tour of a landmark in Philly. This is the experiential dimension that really shifts, enriches and transforms both the teaching and learning in these courses. Twice a month, the program students as a group participate in a cohort activity where they get off the beaten path to explore sites, activities and experiences that further enrich their classroom learning. Cohort activities also include a meal, so students get to sample some of the amazing food Philly has to offer! The program creates a tight-knit Tri-Co group of students. 

How does the Tri-Co Philly Program help students connect with the city of Philadelphia—academically, professionally, or personally? 

Tri-Co Philly helps students benefit from many experiences that they wouldn’t be able to find and/or access on their own and it pays for them. Students report that the experiential learning in Tri-Co Philly courses is different from other classes they have taken, and can be transformational for their experience in college and beyond. For instance, several students have shared that a project interviewing community gardeners in Philly was the most impactful assignment of their college career. The program forges academic connections with faculty across the Tri-Co. Professional networks are critical, both while in and after college. Through Tri-Co Philly, students routinely meet contacts in the city that often become the basis of future internships and careers after graduation. 

"Through Tri-Co Philly, students routinely meet contacts in the city that often become the basis of future internships and careers after graduation."

What kinds of themes or topics have recent Tri-Co Philly courses focused on? 

Our topic, broadly speaking, is the urban and Philadelphia experience. This looks different across different semesters, as we draw upon courses from a variety of disciplines. Recently, we’ve had courses on topics from food cultures in Philadelphia to the contemporary housing crisis. Over the years, classes have explored politics, music, art, film, literature, environmental studies, immigrant communities, epidemics, environmental justice, public health, race and power, economies that exist off the capitalist grid, architecture, and monuments. 

How does participating in Tri-Co Philly prepare students for life beyond Bryn Mawr? 

Participating in Tri-Co Philly can be terrific preparation for life beyond Bryn Mawr. You will learn to engage unfamiliar environments with independence and confidence. You will learn how your academic, often theoretical work, is grounded in and applies in the real world. Students learn from meeting some of the change makers working to make the city a better and more livable place. They come away with a new sense of their place in the world and how to engage directly with communities. Public transportation is a cornerstone of our program, so students learn to navigate Philadelphia using buses, subway, trolleys and trains into and around the city. All of these are transferable life skills that you will bring with you wherever you are headed after Bryn Mawr. It assists students in thinking about how to leverage their liberal arts education into the life they want to pursue after college. For many, the program also expands the reach of their Bryn Mawr education, making a whole city and urban experience part of it. Many students end up living and working in Philadelphia or other cities after graduation, drawing on the knowledge, skills and independence they build by spending a semester being engaged in the city.