With MIIS sending experts all over the globe, MPC assembling one of the finest community college faculty in the USA, CSUMB reinventing the concept of a state school and NPS feeding bright minds to the NSA, Monterey County is swimming in an alphabet soup of outstanding schools.

But before you drop $30,000 for a year of international knowledge at MIIS, or drop into depression because CSU Monterey Bay isn’t enrolling any new students, or drop and give your recruiting sergeant 50 push-ups, hold on. There are ways to get a college career’s worth of worldly curriculum without coughing up any cash, filling out endless applications, or dealing with orders from a grumpy commanding officer.

Here’s a look at how to build your own degree for free, with inspiration furnished from some of the more popular classes at colleges across the county.

– Mark C. Anderson

THE INSPIRATION

Criminal Law and Procedure | Monterey College of Law

The first-year-required course focuses on the history, evolution and philosophy ofthe common law principles of criminal law and modern statutory changes ofcommon law. Students concentrate on substantive criminal law, including the elements of various crimes and the concepts of criminal procedure.

THE FREE DEGREE

You don’t have to brave the LSAT to learn how to litigate with the best of them. High school students can try out for their school mock trial teams and the public is free to come and watch these aspiring attorneys examine and cross-examine. The offices of public defenders and district attorneys are always looking for eager volunteers willing to help with factual and secretarial jobs; the Monterey Superior Court Self-Help Center (www.montereycourts.org/SelfHelp/Default.aspx), meanwhile, welcomes law-obsessed citizens to learn common procedures, such as divorce and child support issues. Plus, the Monterey County Court is a public forum. The curious can observe felony, drug, domestic violence and misdemeanor trials (www.justicepartners.monterey.courts.ca.gov/Public/JPPublicCalendarSearch.aspx). A degree in law often leads to a life in lawmaking, so friending a local or state government official on Facebook or following their tweets on Twitter (more updates, Assemblyman Bill Monning!) could help you pick up some tips on how to become a skilled civil figure. Become a fan of Gavin Newsom on Facebook to follow his run for governor or watch our current governor struggle with the state budget on Twitter. Finally, the bar at Steakhouse Sixty 8 in Monterey draws local legal talent for a drink and a chance to talk shop – and a barstool education to beat the longest Law & Order SVU marathon. In sum, it’s like Monterey D.A. Elaine McCleaf suggests: You don’t need to pass the bar to become a successful lawyer. “Abraham Lincoln didn’t go to law school.” she says. “He was a self-study, and look how well he did.” [MS]

THE INSPIRATION

International Policy 591: Natural Science Foundations of Environmental Policy | Monterey Institute of International Studies

This survey course focuses on the core principles of “green” environmental issues such as ecology and conservation science, defines and characterizes biodiversity and its importance, and outlines habitat destruction, conservation, and methods of reconstruction. Students analyze conservation methods and participate in conservation management exercises combining human production with species protection.

THE FREE DEGREE

From Monterey Bay’s outlying kelp forests to the piney Santa Lucias, Monterey County provides an almost overwhelming amount of opportunity for the ecologically-minded to learn the nitty gritty of conservation. For the ornithologically inclined, the Ventana Wildlife Society (www.ventanaws.org) hosts weekly bird banding workshops to monitor population fluctuations. Elkhorn Slough (www.elkhornslough.org) holds policy-oriented coastal training programs that deal with eco-tourism, agriculture, habitat management and clean water, as well as teacher workshops that describe the nuances of the wetland’s mudflats, salt marshes and grasslands. Its information center houses a GIS program with historic aerial maps that explain shifts in land use patterns and habitat threats. Plants are the backbone of any ecosystem, which is why both the Monterey chapter of the California Native Plant Society (www.montereybaycnps.org) and the Chuck Haugen Conservation Fund (www.chuckhaugenconservationfund.org) constantly wage war against invasive-plant-species like Cape ivy and fennel at Point Lobos State Reserve and Garrapata State Park, to name a few. Besides weeding, the two groups teach invasive plant spotting techniques and proper herbicide applications. The California Plant Society’s (www.cnps.org) monthly meetings, every third Thursday, examine the policy issues influencing habitat destruction.

The folks running the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary (www.montereybay.noaa.gov) have a lot of ocean to work with – more than 6,000 square miles – and need all the help they can get. Aid in their efforts to reconstruct the depleted area by cleaning beaches and monitoring water quality; divers can go the extra mile by counting fish to document species populations or harvesting invasive plant species. [MC]

THE INSPIRATION

Human Communications 227: Multicultural Poetry | Cal State University Monterey Bay

This literature course focuses on poetry as artistic and cultural representation. Students read works by authors of many backgrounds, watch poets read and talk about their work on video, and create their own original poetry. Students also develop the tools to do literary and cultural analysis of poetry.

THE FREE DEGREE

Opportunities to practice and play in the world of poetry aren’t as ubiquitous as the poetic inspiration showcased by Mother Nature throughout Monterey County, but the price is often the same (free). Editor Nicole Henares and the good folks at Monterey Poetry Review (415-994-7711, www.hartnell.edu/mpr) are always looking for contributors and collaborators. Monterey County Free Libraries (www.co.monterey.ca.us/library/) and their luminous staffers hold the keys to a treasure chest of gatherings, workshops and volumes – “Our libraries are an awesome resource for poetry,” says former P.G. Poet-in-Residence Garland Thompson, “with everything from Walt Whitman to contemporary writers like Yusef Komunyakaa” – and their free Internet access unlocks seemingly endless slam and more traditional poetic riches. The East Village Cafe (www.eastvillagecoffeelounge.com, 373-5601) is a key hub for free or very cheap events like the readings Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium hosts with impressive wordsmiths like Sam Salerno and Joseph Stroud once a month, and the rowdier Rubber Chicken Poetry Slam every Wednesday. Open mic nights like the monthly “This Is Now!” at MPC (this_is_now_monterey@yahoo.com) and Wednesday nights at Henry Miller Library (www.henrymiller.org, 667-2574) offer other outlets (with a dash of other creative trades); Central Coast Writers Club brings scribes of different disciplines together (www.centralcoastwriters.org), too. [GT]

THE INSPIRATION

MR 2200: Introduction to Meteorology | Naval Postgraduate School

This core class is the first step on the path to a graduate degree in meteorology that comes after prerequisites like math and physics, and before classes like Weather for Warfighter Decision Making. The course looks at the composition and structure of the atmosphere, thermodynamic processes, forces and related small-and large-scale motions, air masses, fronts, tropical cyclones, solar and terrestrial radiations, general circulations and weather forecasting.

THE FREE DEGREE

There is a weather pattern gaining momemtum at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (www.mbari.org): “citizen science.” Basically, scientists collect so much data they don’t have the time to go through it all. So they call in the citizen calvary. Beginning in a few weeks, MBARI launches ORCA’s Eye-in-the-Sea, an underwater deep sea camera that’s the first of its kind in the U.S. It’ll be taking in footage 24/7 and researchers hope it will reveal species and behaviors never seen before. Non-scientists are invited to help observe video footage and tag and catalog discoveries. Sept. 15, MBARI’s open house – in addition to the ongoing public seminar series (www.mbari.org/seminars, 775-1700) – will provide great avenues to getting involved. Citizen students can also track up to the minute meteorological data at www.pubdata.mlml.calstate.edu/ and through NOAA’s website, www.monterey.noaa.org. Monterey Airport-adjacent Fleet Numerical www.fnmoc.navy.mil/public/), meanwhile, offers a look at some of the data constantly collected on behalf of the government. [MF]

THE INSPIRATION

Area Studies 140: Introduction to Foreign Language Culture | Defense Language Institute

DLI aims to provide culturally based foreign language education for DoD personnel. Besides equipping students with a megadose of intensive language immersion, DLI also helps students learn real-life cultural communication and negotiation skills, and gives them a critical understanding of multicultural and political contexts. But they keep the specifics secret.

THE FREE DEGREE

The culturally curious can connect with the surprisingly varied international community through International Students, Inc. (www.isimonterey.org), which holds monthly picnics and mixers for international and American students and boasts a buddy system that provides incoming international students with a family.Wordly culture overflows the Big Sur Spirit Garden (www.bigsurspiritgarden.com), where there is always a mind-blowing variety of international music and dance acts from the likes of Brazil, Cuba, Korea, Belgium and France. At the Monterey Institute’s community garden, “Our Green Thumb” (policy.miis.edu/international_environmental_policy/our_green_thumb.html), community members work side by side with the Institute’s international students to grow organic fruits and vegetables. The Monterey Hostel (www.montereyhostel.org) hosts barbecues every Saturday for its diverse hostel visitors, and its Travel Talk sessions every fourth Monday allow the area’s inhabitants to voyage vicariously through other travelers, who present slide shows from recent treks through Tibet or bike rides across Canada. And there’s no better way to explore culture than by way of tastebuds: Traverse the Indian subcontinent at Ambrosia in Monterey, master Mediterranean flavors with help from Paprika Cafe in New Monterey, give your Italian ignorance the boot with help from Gino’s in Salinas. The world awaits. [MC]

THE INSPIRATION

AHT 101: Introduction to Animal Medicine | Hartnell College

The school’s course catalog calls it “an overview of everything one needs to know to get involved in the animal health care profession and the veterinary medical field.” Students learn the basics, especially concerning dogs and cats, and get an inside peek into the vet world, learning animal anatomy, how to give a physical examination, common medical problems and emergency care, in addition to things like grooming, training techniques and animal nutrition.

THE FREE DEGREE

That free opportunities for hands-on experience in the animal med field are many is particularly encouraging because Harnell has flirted with cutting its veterinary program altogether. At Monterey County’s SPCA (373-2631, www.spcamc.org/volunteer.htm) volunteers work with actual vets and the clinical staff, handling animals, sterilizing tools, and developing vet assistant experience in the clinic, and also learn how to train, groom, and feed animals. Places like the AFRP (333-0722, www.animalfriendsrescue.org/index.html) provide volunteers with the training and the chance to work with and care for injured or disabled animals. Sean Senechal, founder and director of the AnimalSign Center (633-3010, www.animalsign.org) – who also volunteers at AFRP – is a professor who accepts student volunteers to help with the center, where animals and humans learn how to better communicate. Salinas Animal Services (758-7285, www.ci.salinas.ca.us/services/animalservices/volunteer.cfm) and the Animal Services of Monterey County (769-8858, www.co.monterey.ca.us/healthanimalservices) both provide opportunities where volunteers can socialize with, walk and train animals; at the spay and neuter clinic at the county shelter, volunteers work with animals before and after surgery. [MN]