About the University Fellows
The University Fellows Program is Samford's honors college experience. Our program offers an interdisciplinary great ideas core curriculum, international study in Italy, and funding for academic enrichment. Admission to the program is highly-competitive. We're looking for intellectually curious, ambitious students who want to make connections across disciplines. The program is open to students from all Samford undergraduate majors, but students must be admitted as high school seniors.
The mind
According to Aristotle, all knowledge begins in wonder, and all wonder begins with a question. University Fellows courses are designed to raise the kinds of questions that will lead you to greater curiosity about the world around you. Whether you are exploring justice with Plato, grace with Augustine, motion with Galileo, or economics with Marx, University Fellows will challenge you to think deeply about what you believe and why.
- Fellows take a unique core curriculum. In addition to a four-semester great books sequence, Fellows participate in seminar-style courses in composition, biblical studies, calculus, global cultures, and the philosophy of science.
- They have special access to undergraduate research funds, including the Alabama Power Foundation Research Fellowships.
The virtues
Putting knowledge into right action requires wisdom. To that end, the University Fellows Program is committed to understanding how the classical and Christian virtues are essential to the cultivation of responsible citizenship. The life of the mind must be joined to a life of service, and as a University Fellow you will have many opportunities to explore how the virtues of faith, hope and love can help you to envision a more just society.
In Calling and Leadership I and II, Fellows explore how virtue and character are essential to responsible leadership. They are challenged to reflect on their own calling and to prepare themselves to be intellectual leaders in their fields and disciplines.
The world
Not all roads lead to Rome, but they do if you are a University Fellow. In addition to traveling to Rome, you will be provided other opportunities to explore your education in a global context. Read Shakespeare at the Daniel House in London; travel the Amazon in Jan Term for Biology credit; sign up for our exchange program in Hong Kong. Wherever you want your journey to take you, University Fellows is committed to making it happen.
- Fellows travel to Italy (Rome & Florence) during Jan Term of the sophomore year and have priority registration for all other Samford international study experiences.
- In 2010, the UFP received a $450,000 gift to endow the Daniel Foundation International Study Scholarships. Junior and senior Fellows may apply for these scholarship funds to study abroad for the semester.