Each year, undergraduate students from the College and the Eastman School of Music are selected by special committees to receive a tuition-free, fifth year of study in two distinct programs: Take Five and e5.
“The Take Five and e5 programs are unique opportunities for students to explore their passions during a tuition-free fifth year,” says Jeffrey Runner, dean of the College. “These programs perfectly complement the Rochester Curriculum, which supports students following their passions wherever they lead them.”
While other universities have started offering similar programs, the Take Five program in particular is believed to be the oldest of its type, making Rochester a pioneer in this innovative way to encourage and support learning for learning’s sake.
The Take Five Scholars Program is sponsored by the College Center for Advising Services and affords students the opportunity to study a topic of interest and learn for the sake of learning. Students complete an application that includes a proposal for a sustained and coherent interdisciplinary program of study. With roughly 75 to 100 students admitted each year into the Take Five program, the number of students since its inception in 1986 is in the thousands.
[table id=1 /]The e5 program is also sponsored by the College Center for Advising Services, with support from the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship. It offers selected students the chance to launch a project and engage in an experiential pursuit, economic or social in nature. Accepted undergraduates may launch an enterprise, intern with a startup, undertake special projects, or develop a business plan. The program began in 2005 as the Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year program and was renamed e5 in 2018. About 175 students have been admitted since its inception.
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