Our Programmes

We want everyone, regardless of experience, to be able to engage with EA ideas, so we’re offering a variety of programmes this term.

If you are new to Effective Altruism, please consider applying to the Arete Fellowship for a comprehensive introduction . This is selective only on the basis of how you interact with the materials in the application form, rather than your knowledge, experience or academic subject.

The others are selective on the basis of how you’ve previously engaged with Effective Altruism, such as which books you’ve read, (as well as how you reason).

If you’re unsure we encourage you to apply to multiple, which should be made relatively easy through the single application form.

Timeline:

• Applications due midnight, Wednesday 22nd October (mid- 2nd week)

• Decisions will be sent out by Friday 24th October

• Accepted applicants will be invited to a pre-programme social on Saturday 25th October (2nd week)

• Groups will start in 3rd week, and meet weekly until 8th week. Most groups will meet on Tuesdays 5-6.30pm, but we can organise groups at other times if needed.

Arete fellowship [Intro]

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.

Arete (usually pronounced AIR-uh-TAY) is a Greek word loosely meaning excellence or virtue, or living up to one’s potential. It is frequently associated with effectiveness and achieving results.

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. 

Research Impact Oxford

An 8-week entry level programme helping talented students launch high-impact research careers.

Participants work in small teams to explore a research question in one of our key focus areas: AI governance, technical AI safety, global health, biosecurity, or animal welfare. No prior experience is required — with guidance from experienced mentors, students develop their research skills and contribute to work that addresses pressing global challenges, with a £2,000 prize awarded to the best overall project at the end of the programme.

career accelerator programme

This is a semi-structured in-person co-working group where fellows get the accountability, space and structure to work on their career plans, one-on-one discussions to signpost them to resources and the freedom to explore their careers in a way that suits them.

Each session is primarily participants working independently on their careers, doing activities such as making career plans, going through job application processes or upskilling through independent programmes.

To provide some direction, participants will have individual support to construct a plan for what they'll spend their time doing. They will also discuss their progress with the rest of the group in the end, so they can learn from each other's findings.

If you have any doubts or questions, please email Alex, or book a call with him here.

in-depth fellowship (IDEA)

This is a cause neutral discussion group designed to help you gain a more thorough understanding of a variety of cause areas and to help you think through how to prioritise between them.

It begins with 2 weeks of setting intentions and thinking about our own values and how we arrive at them, followed by 4 weeks where your fellowship group decides together which topics to cover. Read the options here!

doing good meta: a moral uncertainty discussion group

“I want to help as many sentient animals as possible, but it's very unclear to me whether (and how) invertebrates are sentient - where should I donate and what should I eat?” and “I’m uncertain about whether earning to give in certain industries is morally permissible, but my favourite charities urgently need funding - how should I proceed?” People often apply their preferred ethical theory, justified through esoteric thought experiments and abstract principles, to questions like these. Unfortunately, ethics is hard, people are often overconfident, and we want to make good decisions even if we're uncertain about specific ethical claims. In this group, we try to work out what this all means for thorny issues faced by those who want to help as many people as possible, and how we can still make progress without "solving ethics".

Prior engagement / agreement with EA isn't necessary for this group, although you might find the discussion less useful if you find these four principles unappealing or fundamentally incompatible with your values.

Please feel free to reach out to james.lester@balliol.ox.ac.uk with any questions :))

Animal welfare discussion group

This will be a less structured reading group where we read and discuss/ podcast we find interesting, with a view to improving our understanding of the animal welfare landscape. Here I have some suggested readings/ videos/ podcasts, but would be excited to incorporate your ideas too!

Applications close midnight, Wednesday 22nd October (mid 2nd week)