The Bridges Program is open to high-achieving high school seniors from historically underrepresented populations or who have a commitment to promoting a deeper understanding of and appreciation for diversity. The program offers these prospective students the experience of an overnight visit and immersion in college classes.
Over four weeks in the fall semester, the Humanities Center puts these visitors into seminars taught by faculty from diverse areas of the humanities. The majority of students in the program later enroll at Miami University.
Humanities Bridges classes introduce students to discussion-based inquiry in the humanities. Open to all, regardless of intended major, each class includes two 50-minute seminars on different topics, each taught by a seasoned professor of English, philosophy, history, or cultural studies. Students are invited to wrestle with fundamental questions about democracy, human nature, social justice, free expression, and human creativity. Past seminars have focused on historical case studies; influential works of literature, film, and culture; and age-old questions about reality, ethics and human knowledge.