Reinventing liberal arts education for a changing planet
The Gull Island Institute is a vision for higher education, offering immersive liberal arts programs in remote coastal ecosystems in the Cape and Islands Region of Massachusetts. Our mission is to prepare a new generation for democratic citizenship and care of the earth through place-based learning rooted in rigorous academics, physical labor, and student self-governance.​
Our Approach
At a time of upheaval in higher education, we need new ways of connecting liberal arts learning to the communities and places that sustain us.
In our programs, students assume real responsibility for their community in a remarkable coastal locale through rigorous academics, physical labor, and self-governance.
Our goal is to nurture capacities of thought and citizenship necessary for grappling with a fundamental question: what does it mean to inhabit a place well?
Our Programs
We run a multi-week, tuition-free program in May-June for advanced undergraduates on islands in Buzzards Bay. We also develop partnership programs that bring our model of three-pillared learning to a range of students at public, private, and community colleges. All of our programs incorporate rigorous academics, labor, and student self-governance.
For students:
For prospective institutional partners:
The Boston Globe profiles the Gull Island Institute and its inaugural Buzzards Bay Term – the Junemester 2023.
New: The Falmouth Enterprise profiles the Gull Island Institute in its third year, after the 2025 Buzzards Bay Term. "Gull Island Institute Aims To 'Reinvent Liberal Arts Education For An Age Of Climate Change'"
(July 2025)
New: "A Small Island Offers Big Lessons in Sustainability." Read about our Classroom-to-Island program in April 2025 with Sustainable Development students from Columbia University.
Gull Island Institute does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), citizenship, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in the administration of any of its educational programs, admissions policies, financial aid, and other related policies and programs, as well as volunteer and employment-related policies and activities.
