Campus Life
LANDSCAPE
The Ox-Bow campus is comprised of 115-acres of dunes, forests, and trails. The central campus has grown up around the historic buildings that still stand today. The heart of the campus is the Ox-Bow Inn which was built in 1873. In 2006, the Inn underwent a major renovation. The main body of the original building still stands as rustic and as charming as ever. The Burke Inn Addition, affectionately called the “New Inn” by Ox-Bow denizens, is home to Ox-Bow’s kitchen and cozy dining room, complete with a fieldstone fireplace.
Approximately 30 brightly colored studio buildings and residential cabins surround the Inn, which looks out onto the Ox-Bow meadow and lagoon. The original cabins were built by Ox-Bow stewards, and have been preserved for almost a century. The five acres that make up the residential campus have been enhanced with flowers and organic vegetable gardens that complement Ox-Bow's meadow. The Tallmadge Woods, Ox-Bow’s 110-acre old-growth forest has remained untouched and has been placed into a conservation easement to ensure its preservation.
SCHEDULE
All core students arrive between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST on Sundays for check-in before courses start. Courses begin Monday at 11:00 AM after a mandatory 9:00 a.m. orientation session and campus tour. Because of the intensity of Ox-Bow’s program, students participate in one course per session. Courses meet daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. All courses take a one-hour lunch break every day. Two-week classes meet on both days of the middle weekend of the session.
MEALS
Students enjoy healthy and delicious meals prepared each day by our talented culinary staff. Meals are included in the room and board fee for students residing at Ox-Bow. Three meals, plus beverages and snacks, are served daily. Meal service begins with Sunday dinner and continues through breakfast on the Saturday of your departure. Please communicate your dietary needs and preferences through the digital form that we will provide you with before you arrive at Ox-Bow. Commuting students may purchase meal plans at additional cost.
Meal times
Monday–Saturday:
Breakfast: 8:30 a.m.–9:15 a.m.
Lunch: 1:00 p.m.–1:45 p.m.
Dinner: 6:00 p.m.–6:45 p.m.
Sunday:
Grab-n-go breakfast all morning
Brunch: 12:00 p.m.–12:45 p.m.
Dinner: 6:00 p.m.–6:45 p.m.
LEISURE
After a hard day of work, students have a variety of recreational activities to choose from. Whether you hike through the wooded dunes, take a canoe ride through the lagoon, or watch the sunset over Lake Michigan, you'll discover many ways to relax at Ox-Bow. You can also find students playing volleyball on the meadow, reading on the porch, or warming their toes at the nightly campfires to get a break from the studio. Ox-Bow is only a short ferry ride away from the charming resort towns of Saugatuck and Douglas, which are the homes to many art galleries and specialty shops. Additionally, on Friday nights, after classes have ended, students, faculty, and staff gather on the meadow for dancing. Costume parties are a 100+ year old tradition at Ox-Bow, and we maintain this part of our history.