What makes a person to be educated? Institutions of higher learning in the United States of America, in recent decades, have answered this question with narrowed focus on specializations, often at the cost of both deep and comprehensive intellectual development. The Lyceum Institute offers a different path: one which strives both to plant deep and nourish continually in the human mind those habits which grow into insight and meaning for all of life.
St. Columban
Among our inspirations for this approach is St. Columban, (c.543–615ad), an Irish monk, missionary, and dedicated student of language and the Trivium. So that his education would not be in vain, St. Columban turned away from all the fruitless pleasures of the world and practiced a rigorous self-discipline, “that he who was to instruct others might first instruct himself.” The Lyceum Institute wishes to nourish those who are inclined to this humble pursuit of learning without the vanities of more conventional paths.
In an effort to provide this opportunity to serious students, we hereby announce the 2024-2025 Columbanus Fellowship. This Fellowship, the first we are offering, is open to applications from the public and currently-enrolled Lyceum members alike. Each recipient will become a full member of the Lyceum Institute, free of charge, for two years. During those two years, the Fellow will take a rigorous course of study in the Classical Trivium—Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric—take at least two Philosophy Seminars, study either Latin, Greek, or a combination of the two, and defend a Quaestio Disputata.
Fellowship Details
Columbanus Fellows will be expected to dedicate no fewer than 10 hours (and likely more than 20) per week to study at the Lyceum Institute. They will also limit all exposure to and usage of social media and be expected to keep their entertainment consumption to a minimum, pursuing instead true leisure: that betterment of the mind and soul discussed so admirably by Josef Pieper.
To apply for the Columbanus Fellowship, you must fill out the application form on this page. Applicants must be between the ages of 18–40 and a citizen of the United States of America. The application period will be open from September 1—21 November 2023. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance or rejection by 12 December 2023.
Program
The Columbanus Fellowship combines core Trivium requirements with a selection of language and philosophy courses. Courses required of all Fellows are in bold. Students may take either Latin or Greek but must take one or the other. Students who have taken Latin I-II must either declare to continue with Latin III or switch to Greek I.
First Year
- Winter
- Art of Grammar I: Foundations
- Latin I: Foundations
- Spring
- Art of Logic I: Basics of Argumentation
- Latin II: Foundations
- Summer
- Latin III: Foundations or Greek I: Foundations
- Philosophy Seminar
- Introduction to Philosophical Thinking, Introduction to a Living Thomism, Aquinas’ Cosmological Vision, or Aristotle’s Organon
- Fall
- Art of Rhetoric I: Discovery of Arguments
- Greek II: Foundations
- Quaestiones Disputatae – Inquirere
Second Year
- Winter
- Art of Grammar II: Composition
- Advanced Latin or Greek III: Foundations
- Spring
- Art of Logic II: Advanced Argumentation
- Quaestiones Disputatae – Formal Preparation
- Summer
- Advanced Latin or Greek
- Philosophy Seminar
- Any primary seminar in Ethics, Thomistic Psychology, Semiotics, or Politics and Culture
- Fall
- Art of Rhetoric II: Styles of Persuasion
- Quaestiones Disputatae – Defensio
Application for the Columbanus Fellowship
Support the Columbanus Fellowship
All donations go directly to supporting the costs for providing the Fellowship: primarily, Faculty; secondarily, technology. As a non-profit public charity, we are reliant upon donations from the public—even small amounts go a long way to building our total! Your gift is greatly appreciated. Learn more about the Fellowship here.
Prospective major gift donors ($2500+) are encouraged to use our contact form to arrange donations.