St. John’s College Summer Academy 2023 Sessions

All Summer Sessions for 2023 are closed for registration. Summer 2024 applications will open in December.

Join our mailing list for future sessions!

In our Summer Academy, high school students enjoy Great Books Reading Programs that range from insightful poetry by Shakespeare to debates in justice by Aristotle and Hamilton, just to name a few. Find a session that interests you and join us for a summer you’ll never forget!

2023 Summer Academy Dates
Date Session Location
June 19–23 Plato’s Dialogues: Excerpts from the Meno, the Apology, and the Republic Online
June 25–July 1 Sight & Insight: Seeing and knowing in literature, philosophy, and geometry Annapolis, MD
June 26–30 Shakespeare’s As You Like It & select sonnets Online
July 2–8

Justice, Nature, & Law: From the politics of society to the rules of the natural world

Annapolis, MD
July 9–15 Hidden Powers: Uncovering forces in Shakespeare, poetry, and physics Annapolis, MD
July 9–15 Beginnings: Inquiring into the Origins of Politics, Poetry, and Mathematics Santa Fe, NM
July 16–22

Technology & Transcendence: Scientific Ambition and the Human Condition

Santa Fe, NM
July 23–29 Art & Nature: Intersection of Imagination and Ingenuity Santa Fe, NM
July 31–August 4 Speeches on American Democracy: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr. Online
August 7–11 Poetry by American Women: Emily Dickinson, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Rita Dove Online

Each week, high school students spend time in conversation in the classroom, convene during free-time to talk or read in the residence halls and outdoor spaces, and visit local historic and cultural landmarks.

Depending on the week’s thematic emphasis, teens take classes in two of the following subject areas: laboratory science, mathematics, language, music, visual arts, or rhetoric. Because the seminar class plays a central role in our discussion-based approach to learning, students participate in seminar every week.

Seminar occurs around a large table that seats up to 20 students and two faculty members. One faculty member asks an opening question inspired by the assigned reading, and the discussion is launched.

“I never anticipated meeting so many great people and making so many great friends. I still talk to some people I met at the summer academy every day.”
Matthew​ (SA16)

In mathematics, music, language, rhetoric or visual arts classes, no more than 15 students study under the guidance of one faculty member. Whether demonstrating a mathematical proposition, exploring the language in a poem, examining musical literature, or viewing artwork, students engage in a close and careful reading or analysis that leads to insights and deeper questions.

In laboratory science, the basis for discussion and experimentation are classic papers. Under the direction of one faculty member up to 15 students discuss and reconstruct a pivotal idea and experiment from the history of science.

Here are schedule snapshots of sessions on our Annapolis and Santa Fe campuses.