Signature Programs
Rigging a sail and measuring wind speed. Working alongside medical professionals in a scientific laboratory. Conducting in-depth research and partnering with local experts to enrich the local community. These are just some of the hands-on learning opportunities open to Ashley Hall girls.
Offshore Leadership Program
This experiential approach defines as well our Offshore Leadership Program, an interdisciplinary course of study culminating in a ten-day open water voyage in which students work as crew members aboard a schooner in the Atlantic Ocean. Our Offshore Leadership Program sets sail from Portsmouth, Virginia for a week-long voyage, traveling from the Chesapeake Bay, going around Cape Hatteras, and finally arriving back in Charleston.
Summer Neuroscience Institute
The Summer Neuroscience Institute is a unique partnership between Ashley Hall, the Medical University of South Carolina and the College of Charleston, both located near the school’s downtown campus. During this intensive two-week study of the human brain, students learn about sleep and memory, psychology and depression, and basic brain anatomy. They also spend time observing many of the region’s leading medical professionals and learning about undergraduate work involved in the field of science and medicine.
Global Studies Program
In the fall of 2014, Ashley Hall officially opened the Rutledge House for Global Studies. The Rutledge House is home to our international boarding students and provides spacious classrooms for courses designed to expand students’ awareness of global issues. These courses, which include investigations of international law and human rights, questions of race, gender, and equality, as well as courses in comparative literature and, most obviously, foreign languages prepare Ashley Hall students to face the challenges of society with confidence in their knowledge and understanding of the intricate interactions of global forces.
Just as our International Boarding Program brings students from diverse socio-political and cultural environments to our campus, so does our international travel-study offerings invite Ashley Hall students to explore the world beyond our campus. In addition to language immersion programs in France and Spain, we have offered students (and, on occasion, parents) opportunities to gain first-hand experience of countries such as Costa Rica, Canada, Ireland, India, the Galapagos and the Bahamas. Founded and directed by Head of School Jill Muti and her husband Lorenzo Muti, the Spoleto Summer Study Abroad Program makes available to Ashley Hall students in grades 9-12 the chance to spend a month in Spoleto, Italy, pursuing course work in the arts and humanities while exploring sites in Florence, Rome, Urbino, and elsewhere.
Senior Projects
Senior Project at Ashley Hall is one of the school’s most distinguished programs. This student-directed, year-long class is a synthesis of intense research, critical thinking, and targeted community outreach allowing students to delve deeper into a specific topic of interest. Selected through a competitive application process the prior spring, Senior Project girls begin researching their proposed topic over the summer months. This research then fuels their work over the course of the school year as the projects evolve. During April of the following year, the girls present their Senior Project research findings to the Upper School student body along with other distinguished guests.