We've extended the deadline to Friday, October 13th.
Some efforts to improve the world can be much more impactful than others. Smallpox eradication, the abolitionist movement, germ theory, and the Green Revolution demonstrate what's possible when people come together to solve pressing problems. But these exceptional opportunities to do good are few and far between. At the other end of the spectrum, many well-intended initiatives are ineffective or even counterproductive. Doing good better is one of the defining challenges of our time.
Recognizing this need, we established the EA Introductory Program to equip students with the knowledge to do good in the world more effectively, and the tools to think critically about their high-impact career ambitions. By the end of the term, students will have learned about a handful of large-scale and neglected global problems, have tools for prioritizing among social problems and interventions for solving them, and have access to in-depth coaching, career advice/connections, and unique opportunities to help others. We look forward to learning with you.
The program will run for 8 weeks this quarter, beginning the week of October 16th. The weekly meeting time is determined by the applicants. The program will consist of around 1 hour of materials to read or listen to per week prior to a weekly 1.5 hour discussion with a few students and a facilitator from the effective altruism community.
Note that the program has a 2-week drop policy. After the second week, if you don't think you'll be able to make the commitment for the next six weeks or don't think the program is for you, you may leave - and this is no problem! We offer this so you can have a graceful exit and remaining students get a good discussion environment.
We are committed to building a diverse cohort. There is some evidence suggesting that underprivileged individuals tend to underestimate their abilities. We do not want the application process to dissuade potential candidates and we strongly encourage interested students to apply regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, physical ability, etc. We also encourage UW undergraduate, graduate and professional students, as well as individuals from all intellectual backgrounds and majors to apply.
Below is the application. It should take no more than 15 minutes.
Please feel free to ask questions by reaching out to us at
eauw@uw.edu!
