Southwestern

Engaging Minds, Transforming Lives

THE Paideia Program

Paideia Application for First-year Students

First-year students that are interested in Paideia during the academic years of 2010-2013 will need to complete an application.  The Call for Paideia Applications will be sent out the first week of February, 2010.  The application deadline is scheduled for February 26, 2010.  All students that submitted applications will be notified by the first week of April, 2010. 

In the Paideia Program, groups of ten students from different academic areas work together and with one professor for six semesters.

During those semesters students and their professors bring together shared readings and experiences from a variety of academic and civic areas. Through conversation, writing, and varied activities, students and their professors explore the connections between their respective academic work and their shared public life. Students should be intellectually curious, willing to "stretch" themselves, and open to an enhanced liberal arts experience.

Please consider these aspects of the Program, as well as what kind of experience you hope to have in the Program, while writing your application essays.

Deadline

The application must be electronically submitted no later than February 26, 2010. Two Reference Forms must also be submitted.  The Reference Forms must be completed by a Southwestern University faculty member, staff member, and/or student.  Each applicant is required to submit two completed Reference Forms from two different individuals.  Click here to download Reference Form.  Remember to print two copies.

Personal Information
Paideia Housing
Are you interested in an all-Paideia housing option in the McCombs Residential Center (that is, apartment-style housing with other Paideia Scholars)? The answer to this question in no way influences the success of your application.
Reference 1
You will need to download and print two (2) copies of the reference form, get them to your references, and request that they be returned directly to the Paideia Office by February 27, 2009. On this application, please list your references.
Reference 2
Essay Questions
NOTE: Your responses to these questions are an important part of your application to the Paideia Program.
1. Describe your richest learning experience–in or out of the classroom–to date.
2. Briefly discuss the latest book, movie, art exhibit, play, concert, lecture, athletic event, television series, or compact disc that has amazed you. Strive to convey how and why it was amazing.
3. What do you see as the most intriguing aspects of the Paideia Program? And in what ways will you contribute to the program? (In other words, how will your involvement in the Paideia Program enrich both your educational experience and the educational experiences of other Paideia Scholars and Professors?)
4. What was the single most important factor in your decision to apply for the program?
5. The themes for the incoming Paideia groups are
  • College: For Who and For What?
  • Coping with Social Responsibility
  • Envisioning Global Citizenship
  • Food and Cultures
  • Narratives We Live By
  • Public Health
  • Responsible Citizenry: Athenian Democracy and Contemporary America
  • Understanding Central Texas
List the three themes that most interest you and state which one you prefer and why.
Signature

By typing your name below and clicking "Apply", this form submits your electronic application to the director of the Paideia Program. Your submission of this application grants the director of the Paideia Program permission to 1) receive a transcript and 2) confirm with the Dean of Students' Office that you are in good disciplinary standing. A personal interview may be part of the selection process.

Paideia Application from (please type your full name in lieu of a physical signature):