VCU Summer Camp in Philosophy

# VCU Summer Camp in Philosophy Virginia Commonwealth University's philosophy faculty organize and teach this week-long day camp at the Starke House on the Richmond campus. It is deliberately low-cost and low-barrier: $300 covers instruction, materials, and daily lunch, and full need-based scholarships are offered. Each summer is organized around a theme - the 2026 camp centered on justice, working through wealth inequality, the rule of law, historical injustice, punishment, and discrimination. ## What You'll Do - Debate the year's theme in faculty-led discussion sessions - Take part in games, theatrical dialogues, and student presentations that stage philosophical problems - Question guest speakers drawn from the department and the university - Explore the Richmond campus, including a scavenger hunt built into the week ## Who Should Apply Students in grades 9-12, including anyone who was in high school during the previous school year. The camp is a day program with drop-off between 8 and 9 a.m. and pick-up between 4 and 5 p.m., so it suits students in the Richmond area and greater Virginia who can commute. ## Outcomes Students leave with practice in constructing and defending arguments, a first look at what a philosophy department actually does, and direct contact with VCU faculty - all at a fraction of the cost of a typical pre-college program.