THE AUSTIN INSTITUTE UNDERGRADUATE FELLOWS PROGRAM
WHAT IS THE UNDERGRADUATE FELLOWS PROGRAM?
College is a time of significant personal growth (exposure to new ideas, experiences, and challenges). Yet, personal growth also comes from ideas, experiences, and challenges that one doesn't find in today's strictly academic environment.
The undergraduates' fellows program at the Austin Institute focuses on a broad understanding of human flourishing and wishes to give you the opportunity to make the most of all that these amazing years have to offer. Our program accompanies undergraduate students at the University of Texas at Austin in their development and growth as fully formed adults. Our program is designed for non-conforming students who want to ask bigger questions—students who know there should be more to college than preparing for a job and more to life than work and screen time.
WHAT DO WE OFFER?
We offer a one-year program divided into four sessions per semester. Together, we address topics that seek to help students set broad goals for their transformation and personal growth.
Students who register for the program also have the opportunity to receive individualized mentoring. The mentorship aims to accompany undergraduate students in developing their "Life Project." The tutoring or mentorship session sets a plan for learning attitudes, acquiring good habits for self-evaluation, and planning individual actions to allow comprehensive growth and a commitment to improving themselves and their communities (families, friendships, etc.).
In addition to the content and formation offered, the Undergraduate programs serve as a space for access to a community environment, as students get to meet people from different backgrounds, majors, professions, and age groups, which constitutes an essential component of a healthy life that is not that accessible during the college years
WHO CAN APPLY?
The program is open to undergraduate students in any field or major currently enrolled in a higher education institution in Austin.
HOW TO APPLY?
1. Prepare a short essay (400-600 words) answering one of these two prompts:
a. What is a good life, and how does college contribute?
b. What does a virtuous person look like in 2025, and why?
2. Submit your online application and essay using the link above.
Who should I contact if I have more questions?
Email Dr. Maria José Ruiz González at mjr@austin-institute.
2024 Sessions
2025 Sessions
Fall 2024
September: "Self-Knowledge".
October: "Ambition and Leadership".
November: "Modernity and its challenges".
December: "Community and belonging".
Fall 2025
September: What am I to do with my life? Discernment considerations.
October: Critical thinking or rigorous thinking?
November: The Ambitious Soul.
December: Cultivating an inner life.
Spring 2024
January: "Happiness, Beauty, Nature, and The City".
February: "The Meaning of Sexual Love and Sexual Purity".
March: "Infatuation, Friendship, and Love".
April: "Powerful Women of Christian Europe: An Historical Overview".
Spring 2025
Themes will be available very soon!
Testimonies
"The Austin Institute has been solid intellectual ground amidst the turbulent waters of day-to-day college life. The companionship I have found here has been embracing, stimulating, and edifying. The quality of conversations and character at the Institute is unmatched—I am truly lucky to have found it."
Hannah, University of Texas, Undergraduate Fellow
