Arete Fellowship (Hilary 2026)
How much difference can one person realistically make?
How can we know whether charities are actually helping people?
Do we have obligations to strangers? What about animals or future people?
How can you apply these ideas and make a big difference with your donations and career?
What is the Arete fellowship?
This seminar group introduces you to the core ideas in Effective Altruism, so you can think about how you can have a positive impact on the world. We will meet weekly from weeks 3-8 at the same time each week. Fellows are expected to do around 30 mins of reading before each meeting.
This program is designed to help you to form your own views on important questions that matter to you and help you have a high impact through your career and donations.
Program discussions will happen in small groups of 3-5 fellows, with an experienced facilitator. Cohorts will meet weekly for 1.5 hours.
what have fellows said about the programme
“The perfect first step for people who want to discover their role in making the world a better place”- Bella, 4th year Biochemistry.
“Rather than telling you how to think, this program explores what you should think about - and keeping an open mind as to solutions to some of the biggest problems is one of the most valuable things that we can do. The more I learnt on this programme, the more I wanted to learn about EA. I have no fewer questions now than when I did at the start of the programme - but the questions now reflect my own personal values and priorities more - and I will take these forward into my career and beyond. “- Sam, 1st year French and German.
“The best part of the fellowship, in my experience, was the opportunity to engage openly with topics that are often difficult to approach, alongside people with a wide range of perspectives. I genuinely loved the conversations I had during the Arete Fellowship - it was often hard to stop talking to my group when everyone brought such thoughtful and interesting insights. The experience was a valuable learning opportunity and helped me clarify how I want to think about my future involvement with EA.” - Ranya, MSci Psychology and Linguistics.
“The Arete Fellowship helped me step back and think more clearly about what’s important in a career, and how to translate that into concrete next steps. The discussions were thoughtful, and the facilitators were welcoming, open-minded and great at guiding the group!” - Ujval, BA Religion and Asian & Middle Eastern Studies
“Thanks to the small group size, the excellent facilitators, and the interested like-minded people, there is something for everyone: for those who have never really looked into Effective Altruism, the workshop is a helpful introduction, and for those who are already advanced, it is helpful to find out what you are most interested in personally – I discovered AI governance and alignment for myself through the Fellowship.” Phan Anh Le, 2nd Year Computer Science.
“Highly recommend! It's a fantastic way to both discover and engage with the many different schools of thoughts within EA.” Antilia, 1st Year Economics Dphil
Who is it aimed at?
The program is open to students at all stages of university education as well as non-students based in Oxford. It’s designed for people who are not already familiar with Effective Altruism but who are interested in having a greater positive impact on the world. We encourage students and professionals from any background to apply!
What are the requirements?
The fellowship runs for 6 weeks. To take part, you should be
Willing to spend 30 mins/ week preparing
Committed to attending all 90 minute discussions sessions (unless unforeseen circumstances arise)
Excited about making a positive impact
Open to changing your mind
You don’t need any specific background or knowledge to apply!
(If you are already familiar with the core ideas of EA, we encourage you to explore our other programmes)
Curriculum overview
Our curriculum includes literature from across academia and popular media. The programme draws upon knowledge from economics, philosophy, statistics, psychology, social activism, emerging technology and more.
