Twin Peaks Classical Academy - "A Classical School"

Classical Colleges and Universities That I’m Excited About

One of my favorite things about Twin Peaks is our classical curriculum. It enables students to engage with deep questions and recognize that education is about more than getting a job– it helps us to grow as humans become who we are meant to be. Sometimes students and parents will ask me about colleges and universities that will allow them to extend their classical education beyond our PK-12 curriculum. Here are some schools that have caught my attention:

1. University of Dallas (Dallas, Texas)

All students at UD engage in a core curriculum that includes classes in English, history, science, mathematics, fine art, and foreign language. Many students spend a semester studying at UD’s campus in Rome. Bonus: it’s known for happy students.

2. The Hamilton Center at the University of Florida (Gainesville, Florida)

The Hamilton Center exists to educate students in the Western tradition and to engage them in dialogue around questions that matter. The Hamilton Center offers two majors––Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law (PPEL) and Great Books and Ideas (GBI). Starting in the Fall of 2026, the center will offer two more undergraduate degrees— History, Statecraft, and Strategy (HSS) and American Studies. 

3.  St. John’s College (Annapolis, Maryland and Santa Fe, New Mexico)

St. John’s has a long tradition of liberal arts education. It’s so committed that all students take the same classes– there are no majors. Worried that this means no career preparation? Graduates go on to become doctors, engineers, professors, or whatever else interests them. A liberating education means that they are prepared to pursue whatever their next steps are. Despite its name, it has no religious affiliations.

4. The University of Austin (Austin, Texas)

The mission of the University of Austin is to prepare “thoughtful and ethical innovators, builders, leaders, public servants and citizens through open inquiry and civil discourse.” This is a new program that is offering full tuition scholarships for students who enroll to attend in the Fall of 2025.

5. Baylor University Honors College

Baylor’s Honors College offers the benefits of a large university (top-tier sports, lots of extracurricular opportunities) with the opportunity to engage in focused study in the Western tradition as part of the honors program. Honors students can major in Great Texts or in University Scholars, in which students create their own program of study. 

6. University of Tulsa Honors Program

The University of Tulsa Honors Program provides the best of both worlds. Tulsa offers highly ranked majors in engineering and technology. At the same time, the honors program includes four classic text seminars that guide students to engage the  “greatest thinkers, writers, and artists who have contributed to the ‘great conversation.’” It’s a private college, so the sticker price is large, but it offers substantial scholarships that make it worth considering. 

7. Thomas Aquinas College (Santa Paula, California and Northfield, Massachusetts)

Teaching great books rather than textbooks and avoiding lectures in favor of conversation, Thomas Aquinas College embraces the classical tradition. Similarly to St. John’s, all students take the same classes and earn the same degree, and there are two campuses.

8. Hillsdale College (Hillsdale, Michigan)

Hillsdale’s sizable core curriculum includes logic, rhetoric, science, Great Books, fine arts, and physical wellness. The school asks students “Who do you want to be?” instead of “What do you want to do?”