Marlboro College offers a student-centered approach to education that is structurally and culturally different from other colleges. Unfettered by generic course requirements, each student works with their faculty advisor to choose an individualized course of study. For graduation, seniors complete a self-designed Plan of Concentration that is reviewed by an outside evaluator who is an expert in the student's field.
All this occurs within a campus community governed by students, faculty and staff in monthly Town Meetings. The philosophy of students taking responsibility for their education is rooted in the college's beginnings in the 1940s, when G.I.s returning from World War II insisted on playing a dynamic role in their academic community.
Marlboro's mission "to teach students to think clearly and to learn independently" is best served when students experience a wide variety of ideas, opinions and cultural backgrounds. Such students are better prepared to acquire the skills and understanding they may need to succeed as citizens in the wider world. Marlboro seeks to sustain a community diverse in backgrounds, interests, ideas and cultural practices where members engage one another constructively toward that end.
In 1997, Marlboro College created the Graduate Center in nearby Brattleboro. The Graduate Center offers a wide variety of education and training programs, including graduate and distance education, corporate training and joint offerings with other organizations.