Support Points

Our primary point of difference is a promise we make to potential students and their parents. And a promise, of course, is only good if it is kept. This is why real and tangible evidence of how we are paying off our claim of a much broader, more relevant education for tomorrow is vital to our messaging.

Paideia

Paideia is a Greek word referring to the education of an ideal citizen well versed in the arts, the humanities, and the social and natural sciences and distinguished by an enlightened outlook born of the ability to see things from multiple perspectives.

You will learn to discover connections across majors, between disciplines, and in relation to your experiences outside the classroom. Paideia helps you develop a holistic, integrated view of concepts and methods, empowering you to think in broader, more collaborative, and more original ways. You will graduate with a cultivated curiosity and the desire to learn, explore, and create change—in your careers and in life.

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High-Impact Learning Experiences

At Southwestern, high-impact experiences are immersive opportunities that position our graduates for active, meaningful lives of engagement and achievement. Through transformative internships, community-engaged learning, study abroad and study away, and collaborative student–faculty research, students gain independence and progressive mastery of new competencies and skills. Students learn to think more effectively about their understanding of the world, making connections across subjects, borders, economic systems, and varying ways of life. These life-changing experiences create the practices of thinking, creating, and connecting that last a lifetime and are the hallmark of today’s Southwestern Experience.

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Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate research at Southwestern goes well beyond the library stacks or the lab bench. Alongside faculty, you will develop authentic, previously unexplored questions and test your own hypotheses, making original contributions to your field of study. Collaborating with faculty and peers, our students regularly present at professional conferences and even coauthor publications. These experiences hone the intellectual practice of problem-solving and provide an enduring framework for innovation and the creation of new knowledge. Moreover, Southwestern’s undergraduates develop lasting friendships with their fellow researchers and strong bonds with their professors, a key element of our commitment to supporting personal growth.

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Flexible Curriculum

Because each student’s Southwestern Experience is personalized, no two paths look exactly the same. The flexibility of the Southwestern curriculum allows you the freedom to explore your growing interests, discover unexpected new passions, or change your mind and switch majors—all while still graduating in four years. You might decide to double major, or you might pursue two minors, but you will gain a broader perspective through courses in the humanities, fine arts, social sciences, and natural sciences.

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Active Learning

Our commitment to inquiry-based learning creates a more active classroom with fewer lectures and more hands-on engagement. Active learning is a more dynamic approach to the classroom setting, enabling you to participate more in your own education while greatly improving your retention of what you’ve learned.

The process is organic: as children, we ask questions to understand and make sense of our world. Likewise, students are often given a question, problem, or scenario. While constantly and methodically interrogating diverse solutions, you will invent new answers and new knowledge, thereby making greater meaning of your academic experience. By enhancing your ability to understand, interpret, and evaluate information, SU will inspire your lifelong intellectual curiosity.

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Interconnected Learning

Interconnected learning at Southwestern University is designed to help you see the relevance of and relationship between courses and disciplines. You will discover how different fields of knowledge interrelate and learn to unify subjects rather than view them as separate and distinct areas of thought.

Academic discovery, like self-discovery, often lies outside traditional compartmental structures. By bringing together knowledge, concepts, and methods from across multiple fields, you will begin to develop a holistic view and a new, integrated approach to learning.

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Diverse Perspectives

At Southwestern, diversity is more than just numbers. We believe that diversity expands our worldliness, enhances our social development, increases our knowledge base, and better prepares us for collaboration in a global society. Diversity among our students, staff, and faculty leads to a diversity of thought as well as a genuine commitment to creating an inclusive environment that is equally welcoming to all. Approximately one-third of Southwestern students come from underrepresented groups, and over 30% of our students broaden their perspective by studying abroad in Europe, South America, and Asia.

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Mosaic: Educating the Whole Person

At Southwestern, we encourage you to choose mindfully from among the broad variety of opportunities to engage. There’s an ideal balance, different for each student, among academics, team and organization membership, work, and downtime. By engaging with intention and reflecting on the value of each component of your involvement, you can find your perfect balance.

We call this coordinated approach to the cocurricular experience Mosaic to reflect the collection of meaningful moments, relationships, learning, and development that make up your experience in college—your personal mosaic.