The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has selected 36 sophomore and junior students for its Burchard Scholars Program.
The school of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) announced the selection of students on Wednesday. This year’s cohort includes scholars from various majors including biology, electrical engineering, music, computer science, data science, and economics, among others.
MIT faculty and promising sophomores and juniors who have demonstrated excellence in some aspect of the humanities, arts, or social sciences are hosted during the dinner-seminars throughout the year.
“The Burchard Scholars are a thrilling group of students,” Margery Resnick, professor of literature and director of the Burchard Scholars program, said. “They are energized by ideas and consistently willing to express points of view that challenge commonly held ideas.”
The program was named in the honor of the first dean of SHASS, John Ely Burchard, to encourage students to develop critical thinking skills when grappling with new ideas.
“The scholars learn to respect other’s opinions and to support their own viewpoints,” Andrea Wirth, SHASS academic administrator said. “They have the opportunity to practice professional courtesy in the way they engage with the people around them. It’s a safe environment to prepare for interactions which will benefit the students in all kinds of future professional or academic ventures.”
As a part of the program, which begins this month, scholars will attend seven monthly dinner-seminars over the course of one calendar year, in addition to attending a cultural event in the fall.
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