Are you prepared for university?
There are the exams, the applications, the open days . . . But have you thought about what you want to think about, and why? Or what sort of person you want to become, and how your studies fit into your personal growth?
The need to set goals for one’s journey through university has never been more urgent.
Overview
The Awakening Project gives sixth form students a week of preparation for life at whichever university they attend. It offers tutorials, seminars, group discussions, and mentorship to students ahead of university entrance to equip them with the necessary skills to navigate the intellectual and personal challenges to come. The students stay in Oxford for a week and take part in sessions to assess their life goals, take a step forward in personal maturity, and delve deeper into their academic subjects with the help of tutors specialized in their field of interest.
Based at the Canterbury Institute, the Awakening Project extends its charitable mission of rediscovering the academic vocation through humility towards the truth.
Method
The Awakening Project exists to support students in developing an agenda for how to realise personal values through their studies. It offers personalised mentorship with tutors associated with the University of Oxford and the Canterbury Institute. Regular one-to-one and small group meetings during the program provide a forum for tutors to share guidance and education on the theories and ideas in the student’s upcoming degree.
The Awakening Project commits to an Oxonian approach of tailored educational development. Our mentorship is inspired by the tutorial model, in which one tutor will engage closely with a student or a small group of students to discuss works specific to their areas of interest as well as the wider academic and moral considerations behind each discipline. It encourages critical thinking among alternative positions and arguments, giving students early exposure to diverse points of view and demonstrating the benefits to freedom of inquiry.
The programmes are built around the classical and core texts of the student’s proposed area of interest. Tutors privilege the academic and personal development of each student, and encourage reflection on work habits, virtues, decision-making, life goals, moral principles, and the deeper purpose of one’s university years.
Location
Awakening Project attendees draw inspiration from Oxford’s beautiful setting and rich heritage of scholarship, in the heart of the historic university town, a centre of scholarship for over nine hundred years. Discussions stretch from the Canterbury Institute’s own convenient location across from Christ Church meadow to the city’s tree-lined paths, convivial restaurants, thought-provoking museums, and beyond.
Specifications
› Selection:
The Awakening Project is intended for students 16-18 and due to start a university degree in academic years 2024-25 or 2025-26, as well as current first-year university students. Applicants must demonstrate a strong interest in their intended course of study, and additionally be able to demonstrate interest in intellectual and moral questions that go beyond any individual field.
› Location: Canterbury Institute, Oxford. United Kingdom.
› Dates: 22nd - 27th July 2024
› Cost: £190
› Programme: View the schedule of events here.
› Application deadline: Friday 31st April, 2024.
› How to apply:
Applications are to be submitted to office@canterbury.institute with the subject heading “Awakening Application”. The candidate must include:
1. A personal statement of no more than 400 words, explaining prior achievements and demonstrating one’s commitment to intellectual development.
2. A “statement of intent” of no more than 500 words, detailing one’s plan and agenda for the upcoming university years, including one’s current goals for intellectual development and specialism, and one’s thoughts on hoped-for moral and character-based development during these years.
3. Applicants must additionally state in the main body of their email 1) their date of birth; and 2) if they have financial constraints and would like to be considered for a fee waiver. A fee waiver request will have no bearing on one’s likelihood of being accepted into the programme. All applications will be treated equally.
› Notification period:
Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by 15th May 2024.
› Any questions?
Email office@canterbury.institute and we will be happy to help.
