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A student draws in a notebook with drawings of plants that are labeled, such as golden rod.

Green Oaks Term

Live and work out at our 700-acre Green Oaks among a small community of students and professors.

What you're doing during green oaks term

During Green Oaks Term, you will live in the new Mary Kent Knight Center for Living & Learning with about a dozen other students and faculty members out at Green Oaks.

Some examples include: nature writing, nature and art, utopian societies, and regional natural history, and sustainability. Plus: nature walks, group discussions and time to reflect, field trips, visits from guest speakers, and a barn dance.

Green Oaks is home to 700 acres of tallgrass prairie, old growth oaks, second-growth oak-hickory forests, lakes, and streams, so there is plenty to discover while working outside through creative work, research, scholarship, or a hybrid approach that no one has tried before, which is the general spirit of Green Oaks Term!

Green Oaks Term is all about building and being a part of a small, experiential, high functioning community, and becoming fulling integrated into its natural surroundings. Living in this community for the term transforms students, allowing them to see the world differently, and changing their lives.

Immersive Learning in Nature

The Green Oaks Term is truly an "off-campus" program. Students do not commute to Knox or Galesburg, and are more like students in a study abroad program, with nearly all their time spent at Green Oaks for the ten-week duration of the program.

Students walk single file through a prairie.

Green Oaks in the News

Check out news stories from past Green Oaks Terms, including the recent rennovations!

Green Oaks Spring 2025 Immersion Trip

In New Center, Green Oaks Term Continues to be Popular, Successful with Knox Students

One of Knox College’s most beloved programs continues to roll along, embracing the immersive experience unlike few others.

Knox College announces plans for new Green Oaks multipurpose field station

The new facility will feature a small director’s suite, a large kitchen, modern bathrooms, and laundry facilities.

From Radical to Routine

Immersive terms at Knox are now a regular part of the student experience, like study abroad or First-Year Preceptorial, and prospective students actively seek out Knox because of these transformative opportunities.

Green Oaks Term—Barn Dance

Amira Siddique talks about the final celebration of Green Oaks Term, the Barn Dance. The Barn Dance took place at the newly renovated Michael Schurr Hall and included live music, line dancing, and community bonding!

In a barn strung with white lights, a group plays musical instruments. Behind them, six individuals link arms.