The Echols Scholars Program is predicated upon the Jeffersonian ideal of freedom of inquiry and the development of critical thought. It offers special opportunities to those undergraduates in the College of Arts & Sciences who are its most avid learners. These opportunities include
- freedom from the usual area requirements in the College,
- priority registration times in selecting courses,
- access to the Echols Interdisciplinary Major,
- a shared first year living experience,
- a select cadre of faculty advisers, and
- participation in the Echols news and information electronic network.
Through these opportunities and freedoms Echols Scholars can, from their first to last semesters, develop to the full their personal talents and intellectual interests.
Who is an Echols scholar?
The students we seek in the Echols Program are avid and aggressive learners who have demonstrated pronounced intellectual maturity, initiative, and independence. Our goal is to make the full resources of the University of Virginia open to them from their first day on Grounds through their graduation. We want them to have access to the courses they want and need, expert faculty advice, and opportunities for research and scholarship commensurate with their talents and background. We also want students who recognize that learning is not confined to the classroom—students who will benefit for living for a year with fellow Scholars and who will contribute to the intellectual life of the University community. Such students in recent years have made up approximately 8.5% of the students in the College, for a total of 852 Scholars in 2004-2005.
The Echols Scholars Program is not intended to prepare students for any specific fields, professions, or occupations. Rather, it offers both a “fast start” and a “strong finish” for students in all the traditional areas of undergraduate study or for students wishing to define their own field of study under faculty guidance. It allows students to exploit without limitations the richness and diversity of our University and to pursue their academic interests to the fullest extent of their abilities.