Engagements Cohorts
What is an Engagements Cohort?
The Cohort Model of the Engagements Program is a newer model of the Engagements which was piloted for the first time in the 2023-2024 academic year. In the Cohort Model, a cohort of either 20 or 35 students take all four of their Engagements courses around a single theme. The cohort stays together throughout the academic year, approaching their theme through the four different modes of intellectual inquiry of the four pillars.
Why apply to be in an Engagements Cohort?
The Cohort Model provides the students with a unique opportunity in the Engagements! Participating in the cohort model can enhance your intellectual and interpersonal experience within the program. This model gives you the chance to deeply explore an intellectual interest from different perspectives, and in doing so, understand clearly the varying intellectual and methodological approaches of the four pillars. In other words, by exploring a single theme across the Engagements, you can more easily achieve the learning objectives of the Engagements Program and end your first year at UVA with a strong grasp of the pillars.
The Cohort Model also facilitates the creation of a lasting community experience for students in their first year of UVA. Cohort students know they will be together the whole year and are more likely to develop familiarity and friendships with each other in and outside of class. This allows for greater comfort and safety within classroom conversations, which can be particularly helpful for enabling students talk to each other across differences of opinion. Finally, during the 2024-2025 academic year (and moving forward), the Cohort Model has allowed students to explore their theme beyond the classroom. This year, both the Democracy Cohort and the Global Medieval Studies Cohort took their students on field trips to Washington, D.C. Future cohorts will also have the opportunity to go on field trips.
This year there are three Engagements cohorts offered: