Saint Andrew’s Academy, in Lake Almanor, California, is extending its educational mission to now include an accredited, four-year liberal arts college degree, as well as offering dual-enrollment options for its high-school students. The new St. Andrew’s College will offer a B.A. in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Great Books.
St. Andrew’s College will be the first Anglican college in American in well more than 100 years.
St. Andrew’s College is the latest in a rapidly growing movement in higher education of mostly single-degree, alternative “micro-college” institutions. These emerging institutions usually aim to remain under 150 students, offer degrees at substantially lower costs, and focus on discussion-based small classes, liberal studies, classical texts and languages. There are currently about a dozen other existing micro-colleges with more in development.
Each of these colleges have defined distinctives though many are a response to the abandonment of the humanities in traditional colleges & universities. Today’s current “modern” colleges mostly focus on specializations; doing the “what” and “how” very well, but rarely exploring deeply the life-framing “why” questions. By rejecting this training-focused education in favor of participatory liberal arts studies, St. Andrew’s aim of developing a sense of purpose and meaning offers students a legitimate alternative college experience.
As the homeschooling and classical education models continue to gain in popularity, St. Andrew’s College joins this movement’s return to “Old School” and the humanities has become the desirable “New School” as illustrated in the popularity of the social media phenomena of the “dark academia” aesthetic. St. Andrew’s College blends traditional Anglican literary tradition, liturgical spirituality, and the Celtic naturalism of the British Isles. The College honors the life perspective of English intellectual giants such as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and G.K Chesterton of the 20th century, as well as previous thinkers and poets.
Anglican liturgical worship and spiritual formation are an essential aspect of the daily rhythm in a St. Andrew’s College student’s routine. The aspiration for St. Andrew’s college students is to learn to discern the competing philosophies of our time in light of the wisdom of the ages. The College will help prepare students to live faithfully rooted in Christ within the church, while equipping them to engage and transform the culture—giving glory to God and bringing a love for truth, goodness and beauty to the lives around them.
St. Andrew’s College offers an unapologetically traditional English education framed in prayer, grounded in the classics, and aimed at, and for, generous service to others. It is a college with the enchantment of Hogwarts, the appeal of Narnia, the wit of Chesterton, the poetic mysticism of George Herbert and John Donne, and the environmental consciousness of Patrick.
It is not an education for everyone. But those students seeking to be thoroughly transformed intellectually and spiritually in an environment of overwhelming beauty, within a likeminded community of passionate students and spiritual seekers will find St. Andrew’s College like no other college in America.
Ours is a world filled with dragons. St. Andrew’s equips its students to slay them. As might be expected fencing is the athletic sport offered at St. Andrew’s College.
The degree offered at St. Andrew’s is fully-accredited by Western Association of Colleges and Schools (WACS). All WACS accredited credits and degrees are transferable to other institutions of higher learning.
For more information about St. Andrew’s College, contact Emmalie Foos, director of admissions. She is a 19-year-old Gen Z student and a St. Andrew’s Academy graduate who can answer students’ questions about the experience and value of a St. Andrew’s College education as an authentic peer.
Contact:
Emmalie Foos
Direct: (530) 375-0411
College Office: 530-596-3343
159 Main St. Chester, CA 96020
TheCollegeAtStAndrews.org