In the fall of 2025, the Encore Fellows program will begin at Sacred Heart University. This program contains six seminars and courses over the one-year duration of the program.
The program is custom designed to be one year, and it includes two core seminars. Fellows will be able to participate in academic courses and be exposed to the intellectual, cultural and athletic resources at the university. The program considers opportunities for community building as a core element of Encore Fellows.
Source: Will Morgan, Staff Writer and Photographer
“Encore Fellows represents Sacred Heart University’s Pioneer venture into this new form of higher education program that we see across many institutions such as Stanford, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Chicago, Boston College,” said Dr. Michelle Loris, Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.
The Foundational Core Seminars included within the program are A Life Worth Living: Create Your Path, Your Purpose and Wisdom & Wholeness. The former emphasizes gaining a deeper understanding of the world and yourself. It will feature discussions of philosophers of the past and present, as well as regularly scheduled luncheons with university faculty.
The latter emphasizes spiritual reflections to develop self-understanding, which will be accommodated to fellows of any religious beliefs and affiliations, or lack thereof.
Participants will complete six seminars over the course of the Encore Fellows program. The previously mentioned seminars A Life Worth Living and Wisdom & Wholeness will occupy four of the six seminars. These seminars meet once a week over four weeks, with each session lasting 90 minutes.
The remaining two options will be the choice of each student, with the option to add more, and each student will be given an advisor to help them find courses that align with their interests.
Supplemental enrichment opportunities include Meeting of the Minds. These wine and cheese discussions are held every other week with faculty and Fellows’ conversing on a variety of subjects. In addition, there are a wide range of university events. Fellows will be encouraged to attend in an effort to engage with the SHU community.
“Encore Fellows offers an optional journey abroad to aid in the cultural explorations of the program. Study abroad opportunities include trips to our campus in Dingle or the Camino in Spain or a trip including Rome, Florence and Assisi. The study abroad opportunities will include additional costs. But these ventures allow for deeper focused study, enrichment and community building among the Encore Fellows,” said Loris.
The Encore Fellows program has a tuition price of $17,000.
On Thursday, March 27, Sacred Heart will hold two open houses, where students can meet the directors and learn more about the program, to share information about the Encore Fellows program. An in-person session will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and an online session will be conducted from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Freshman Blake Mattessich said that he plans on learning more about the program at future info Sessions.
“It feels like a cool opportunity to really expand my horizons and engage with the world,” said Mattessich.
The Encore Fellows program will be accepting rolling admissions, but students who submit applications by the priority deadline of May 1 will receive higher consideration
Students with inquiries about the program can contact Dr. Michelle Loris at lorism@sacredheart.edu.
