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About Paideia
Southwestern University's Paideia Program engages students in learning by building a culture of connections and reflections and by integrating in-class and out-of-class academic and non-academic experiences. The Paideia Program fosters and promotes connections between academic courses, intercultural and diversity experiences, civic engagement, and collaborative or guided research and creative works. The program consists of a series of six one-credit hour seminar courses and frequent one-on-one meetings between Paideia Scholars and their Paideia Professors.Although the heart of the Program is the Paideia Seminar, being a Paideia Scholar goes beyond the seminars. The Paideia Program emphasizes student exploration and involvement under the guidance of a faculty member. Students apply to the Program early during the spring semester of their first year. Once in the Program, they engage in readings and discussions of current issues--especially as they relate to their coursework, civic engagement, intercultural experience, and research or creative work interests. Paideia Scholars learn to make intentional connections between their different classes and between their in-class and out-of-class experiences.
Paideia Scholars attend seminar classes in groups of ten. Paideia Professors remain with that same group of students through the three years of the Program. Paideia Scholars complete "anchoring" experiences in three areas: Civic Engagement, Intercultural or Diversity Experience, and Collaborative or Guided Research and Creative Works. Scholars frequently share their written reflections with their Paideia Professors and, occasionally, with other Scholars in the Paideia Seminar section.
Students who complete the three years of the Paideia Program earn up to six credit hours of upper-level electives, have up to $1000 of Paideia-related expenses paid on their behalf, and graduate with Paideia distinction. All students in good academic and disciplinary standing with the University are eligible to apply to the Program. Students apply for entry into the Program during February of their first year, and are admitted on the basis of their responses to several essay questions. Admitted Scholars are selected by the Paideia Professors based upon review of an application that consists of both essays by the applicants and letters of recommendation from faculty, staff, and students.
Elements of the Program
The three elements are woven together to help students develop a
greater sense of their “paideia” (or sum total of their
education). The Paideia Program provides students with the opportunity
to build their education, intentionally, through the weaving together
of the five strands:
• Civic Engagement
• Intercultural/ Diversity experience
• Undergraduate Research & creative works
As a signature element to the program, Paideia Scholars work closely
with “Paideia Professors” who play a vital role in helping
students make intentional connections among their experiences in
ways that encourage them to reflect on what they learned and how
they grew through each experience. Such reflection supports what
liberal arts study aims to do: encourage students to become critical
thinkers and broaden their perspective on the world around them.
Civic Engagement
The individual citizen's personal investment in societal issues is known as civic engagement. Active participation in civic activity, in the form of voluntary service and an academic study of that service, is a form of civic engagement called service-learning. It is an important component of the Paideia Program. Service-learning leads students to an understanding of their role as citizens in a democracy, enables them to view themselves as active agents in =their society and to become problem-solvers. Scholars link their service experience to their academic knowledge to gain insight into social, public, ethical, and/or environmental policy issues.Intercultural/ Diversity Experience
The Paideia Program offers the opportunity to integrate various aspects of liberal learning to create a rich academic experience. Engagement with other cultures and ways of thinking enables one to understand varied perspectives, and therefore is a critical step towards becoming liberally educated.Undergraduate Research & Creative Works
The Paideia experience requires students to engage in a meaningful research or creative experience with an appropriate expert or artist while at Southwestern University. Faculty working with students in the development and completion of a research project or artistic endeavor is the best form of teaching.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Do I have to be an "A" student to be a Paideia Scholar?
No. A 2.0 gpa and being in good disciplinary standing are the only requirements. These requirements must be maintained throughout the three years of the program and will be verified periodically. We invite all students to think and act as scholars.2) Can I join the Paideia Scholars AFTER my sophomore year?
Not at this time. We are pioneering this program with cohorts of sophomores (who apply in the spring of their first-year of college).3) Will I have the same Paideia Professor each semester?
Yes. You will remain in the same cohort of up to ten students, with the same Paideia Professor. In rare cases, your Paideia Professor may be on leave or sabbatical one semester. In that case, you would engage with a new Paideia Professor.4) How are the Paideia Program seminars graded?
The seminars will be taken on a Pass/D/F basis. Being a Paideia Scholar involves more than the seminars. The seminars are where all the major program elements are tied together through readings, reflections, and discussions. Paideia Scholars will need to show that they are progressing through the Paideia experiences in a steady manner.5) How many Paideia Seminar classes will I attend each semester?
You will meet every other week for at least 8 hours as a seminar group. This may be structured differently from class to class although most classes meet Tuesdays at noon. Because discussion and interaction is such a critical component of the seminars, attendance is mandatory.6) Do I have to know html or some other programming language to keep my electronic record?
No. The electronic format was chosen because it will make your work easily accessible and easily edited. We will provide the structure so that adding to, or taking from the portfolio will be relatively simple.7) Is the Paideia Program a residential program?
At this time, no. However, one group of Paideia Scholars are all housed together in the same hall of a dormitory.8) Do I get to select my Paideia Professor and my Paideia cohort?
No. The groups will be chosen in an effort to have as heterogeneous mix as possible.9) Will receiving the $1000 Paideia money alter my financial aid?
No. Rather than a stipend, the program will pay expenses on your behalf. This should not influence your financial aid.10) What type of intercultural experience will I engage in?
Typical experiences are those that earn academic credit, that occur in a country other than the U.S. and Canada, that are a cultural stretch for the student, that last a semester (or, if in the summer, at least 3 weeks), that occur during your junior year, and that are on a list of approved programs. Ideally your program would involve being immersed in a country where the primary language is not English. As part of your first semester in the Paideia Program, you will meet several times with the Director of Intercultural Learning in order to find plans that will work best for you.11) How do the Paideia Scholars get to participate in shaping the program?
Paideia Scholars are always invited to provide feedback directly to their Paideia Professor and to the Director of the Paideia Program. In addition, each seminar section has an elected representative who meets with the Paideia Professors and the Director several times during the semester to provide feedback from the seminar section. In 2003-2004, the Paideia Student Representatives made many suggestions that were incorporated into the Spring 2004 syllabus. Students will also gain more and more ownership over the seminar in subsequent semesters. Students are also encouraged to create "Paideia-like" opportunities - like using the listserv to get groups of Paideia Scholars to meet informally to discuss a movie or a speaker- or suggesting an all-Paideia activity.
Links/Internet Resources
The links below provide access to online resources for further development in each of the strands of the Paideia Program. To suggest additional links, please send an email to David Gaines.Civic Engagement
Career ServicesCampus Compact
Habitat for Humanity
Religious Life
Listserv: an on-going listing of service and service-learning opportunities. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to majordomo@southwestern.edu with the message "subscribe su-action" -- then post to the listserv by sending a message to the name of the list su-action@southwestern.edu
Intercultural Learning
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for Undergraduate Study AbroadUndergraduate Research & Creative Works
NSF-REU - The Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program of the National Science Foundation provides stipends, and in many cases, housing and travel for undergraduate student researchers. An REU site consists of a group of ten or so undergraduates who work in the research programs of the host institution. Each student is associated with a specific research project where he/she works closely with the faculty and other researchers. This website explains the program and provides a list of programs that are available. Students must contact and apply to specific REU sites.CUR - The Council on Undergraduate Research. This organization has at its mission to support and promote high quality student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. The organization provides assistance in establishing and maintaining an undergraduate research program on your campus, provides summer stipends for student researchers, and has annual meetings to assist faculty and administrators in developing undergraduate research experiences.
SU Undergraduate Research & Creative Works Symposium - This symposium, organized by students, is an opportunity for students to showcase their research and creative works projects. Abstracts are submitted online in January, and the symposium occurs the first week in April. This year, the symposium is scheduled for the week of April 9, 2007.
King Creativity Fund Scholars - The King Creativity Fund, established by Dr. Joey King '93, is available to fund outstanding creative projects developed by students. Funding of up to $1500 is used for supplies, equipment or travel and is awarded to students in all academic disciplines. The call for proposals occurs each Fall. King Scholars present their work at the King Creativity Scholars Banquet in the Spring. This year, the banquet is scheduled for Spring 2007.
NCUR - National Conferences on Undergraduate Research. NCUR's mission is to promote undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity done in partnership with faculty or other mentors as a vital component of higher education. NCUR holds an annual conference to showcase the results of undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity.