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Oxford Royale 2025

History, Philosophy & Literature Summer School

Oxford Royale at Yale

History, Philosophy & Literature in Yale

Oxford Royale’s History, Philosophy & Literature Summer School offers a comprehensive journey through centuries of history and philosophy, exploring the key ideas, thinkers, and events that shaped our world. From the classical period to the modern day, students will examine how philosophical ideas influenced historical progress, with an insight into how writers captured the zeitgeist of their time. Explore the complimentary subjects on campus at Yale Univeristy, a world-renowned Ivy League institution famous for its humanities subjects.

Through studying influential figures like Aristotle, Nietzsche, and Rousseau, our students will see how history, philosophy, and literature intersect to create meaning. By encouraging critical discussion and creative thinking, this course helps students develop a nuanced understanding of how past thought shaped the world we live in today.

Location Yale
For Ages 16-18 years
Duration 2 weeks
Price
Course Dates
  • 29th Jun to 12th Jul
  • 13th Jul to 26th Jul
Enrol Today
The Empire State Building in New York, which students will visit on our Summer Courses in Yale

The Yale Experience

Watch our Summer Courses in Yale trailer to hear from students and teachers about the transformative experiences they had whilst attending programmes in Yale. See the amazing university campus venues of our lessons and parties whilst students speak about their academic learning. Also, hear students on making international friends against the backdrop of their trip to New York.

History, Philosophy & Literature at Yale

Ideal for students fascinated by how historical events, philosophy, and literature are deeply interconnected, and want to develop the key skills to pursue a degree or career in these humanities subjects.

Gain insights into pivotal historical events and philosophical movements spanning centuries, providing a fascinating two weeks of study.

Develop critical reading, argumentation, and public speaking skills essential for studying humanities at a higher level, especially top universities including the University of Oxford.

Participate in lively discussions and debates that sharpen the ability to articulate ideas clearly and confidently. Learn alongside – and from – a diverse mix of international peers.

Explore key historical turning points like the Reformation, Revolutions, and World Wars in relation to philosophical thought.

Study major philosophical topics such as logic, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, metaethics, and ontology, topics usually found at an undergraduate level of study.

Enhance critical thinking and debate skills through discussions, presentations, and writing assignments.

What happens on our History, Philosophy & Literature programme?

View a sample timetable here.

An Oxford Royale Graduation Certificate

What's Included

  • Residential on the prestigious campus of Yale University

  • Inspiring programmes taught by experts

  • International student community with over 170 nationalities represented since 2004

  • Accommodation, breakfast and dinner, tuition and cultural programmes included

  • Graduation, report cards and certificate

  • 17.5 hours of tuition per week

  • Inspirational cultural programmes

Watch our video Graduation 2023

How You'll Learn

Escape ordinary classroom teaching and learn through interactive and immersive lessons.

Workshops

Hands-on classes designed to help students learn through practical application.

Masterclasses

An interactive forum with an expert in the field, giving students valuable insights into related and new topics.

Guest Speakers

Successful and famous guest speakers offer students the chance to pose their most important questions.

Debates

Essential for honing students' reasoning abilities and public speaking skills.

Interactive Lectures

Dynamic lectures given by passionate teachers packed with facts and viewpoints to engage the audience.

Group Projects

An opportunity to work closely with, and learn from, different perspectives.

Seminars

Working in pairs and small groups, students have plenty of opportunity for discussion and debate.

Challenge Days

Apply the skills and knowledge gained throughout your two-week programme in an immersive full day simulation event.

Exciting Activities and Trips

Visit New York

Visit New York and experience the excitement of this world-famous city. From landmarks like the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, to cultural venues like the Museum of Modern Art, and unmissable tourist destinations from Central Park all the way to Broadway!

See our exclusive events Explore New York

Walking Tour of New Haven

A guided tour of New Haven will help you feel like a local in this historic university city: as the first planned city in the whole of the US it is easy to navigate, and your guide gives you a chance to see the magnificent Gothic architecture and vibrant local scenery.

Yale summer school, experience life at Yale University, join exciting trips and activities, explore the Beinecke library and ancient manuscripts.

Manuscript Library

Experience history at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, the literary archive of Yale University. One of the largest buildings dedicated to rare books, the library contains more than a million books– a book-lover’s dream!

Yale summer school, experience life at Yale University, join exciting activities and trips, visit interesting museums and galleries.

Museums & Galleries

Yale is a centre of culture with many fascinating museums and galleries to explore. The Knights of Columbus Museum, the New Haven Museum, and the New Haven Art Museum for a taste of Yale’s history.

Sightseeing

This is the opportunity of a lifetime to explore New Haven, a historic university town, and New York, one of the most exciting cities on the planet! Join Oxford Royale for a chance to experience everything that this prestigious location has to offer.

Summer school students graduating

Graduation

Celebrate the end of your programme in style at your Oxford Royale graduation. Have the chance to dress in your best clothes and receive a certificate that showcases all your hard work during the course, joined with the new friends you’ve made.

“It’s very different from school, it’s more discussions based and it’s you are free to really have a conversation with each other when you’re talking about the subject. Everyone brings a piece of their own culture with them and you get way more view of the world around you through their perspectives.”

Emma Jane, Netherlands

“I find it very interactive, which is great. I also love how we don’t just take a historical period and analyse it, we analyse it in terms of the philosophical and artistic aspects of the time. So we don’t just breeze through the entire period and then talk about general philosophy, we approach the philosophical aspects through the historical eras. So I think it’s great.”

Georgios, Greece

Reviews

We have a 4.8 rating based on 867 reviews on Reviews.io.
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Hannah

I had an absolutely incredible time doing Summer school with Oxford Royale Academy! I learnt new things about myself and the world around me, and would definitely recommend to others!

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Clara

I loved the Oxford Royal program, I met many people with bright personalities and unique minds, and I also learned a lot from the teachers, campus staff etc. You will enjoy it!

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Francesca

Oxford Royals Academy made my summer amazing! I learned many new things and I met people from all over the world that I know I can call true friends. I definitely recommend ORA to anyone who wants to make unforgettable memories!

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Minquan

The twelve days I spent in Oxford Summer School were very happy, the teachers were very kind and professional, and the curriculum was very reasonable, which expanded my knowledge. All the courses mean a lot to me and I hope I can come back next summer.

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Jade

The oxford royale academy was definitely the highlight of my summer. I have not only learnt more about the course I have chosen, but I've also met a lot of new friends, friendly staff and helpful teachers from different cultures all in the same campus and had a lot of unforgettable memories.

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Katherine

Oxford Royale was a great expreince. It was amazing to get to know people all over the globe and form life long relationships.

Frequently Asked Questions

Once you have decided which programme you would like to attend, and where you would like to study, you can book online using our secure booking system. You will need the details of the student and of the person paying the bill, the name of the programme or programmes you would like to study, and a credit or debit card to pay the relevant enrolment fee.

We are happy to accept enrolment fee payments via a number of other, non-card payment methods (including domestic and international bank transfer), thanks to our partnership with education payment specialists, Flywire. If you would prefer to pay your enrolment fee payment by bank transfer or another method, please contact our Admissions team who will be able to assist you.

Once your application has been submitted, your enrolment fee has been received by us and your booking processed by our system or our team, you will be sent an email confirming your place. You will also receive a login to the Oxford Royale Portal, which you will use to provide us with important additional information about you as your time with us approaches.

A Welcome Pack is available to download from the Oxford Royale Portal.

If at any time you would like to discuss your booking with a member of our award-winning Customer Service team, please feel free to contact us.

All enrolments require an enrolment fee to secure the booking. For Summer 2025, enrolment fee payments are structured as follows:

  • Summer Schools for ages 13-18 (University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London and the University of California, Berkeley and Yale University) – £1295 GBP for each 2-week session

You may either pay the full programme fee when you book your place, or pay the enrolment fee amount and then the balance at a later date.

The balance clearance is required no later than 90 days before the start date of the programme. Where the student is booking less than 90 days before the start date, the programmefees must be covered in full. We appreciate that, with the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, people may require additional flexibility to these terms, and we are doing our best to accommodate that – please contact us if you have concerns regarding making the balance payment in line with the 90-day deadline.

Enrolments received via our online application form will require a debit or credit card payment of at least the enrolment fee amount. If you would like to enrol and make your enrolment fee payment via Bank Transfer or another method, we are happy to facilitate this. Please contact our Admissions team to arrange this.

Balance payments for existing enrolments can be made via a number of methods, including domestic and international bank transfer, credit or debit card, as well as local payment options; please log in to the Oxford Royale Portal and click on the ‘Pay Now’ button on your booking details.

  • Classes and tuition
  • Study files/materials
  • Guest lectures by academic speakers
  • Personalised academic reports and graduation certificate
  • Accommodation at a top university
  • Meals in the dining hall
  • Free WiFi (subject to availability)
  • A wide selection of afternoon and evening activities
  • Coach excursions (kindly note that excursions can be to local attractions or to sites further afield)
  • Welcome and graduation events
  • A multitude of extras, including an Oxford Royale notebook and branded clothing

If you wish to change your programme or study options (including dates), please do not hesitate to contact us. However, changes to programmes are always subject to availability. For this reason, it may be more difficult for us to accommodate any changes requested less than 60 days before the programme start date.

Oxford Royale’s terms and conditions for refunds are as follows:

Any cancellation must be received in writing and can only be made on the following terms:

  • No refund of enrolment fee will be made under any circumstances once the two-week cooling-off period has concluded;
  • For cancellations before your programme start date, the remainder of the programme fees excluding the enrolment fee amount will be proportionally refunded as per the table below:
Period Before Start Date Total Refunded
120+ days 100%
90-119 days 50%
45-89 days 10%
0-44 days 0%

Cancellations made after the commencement date of the programme will not receive any refund.

 

Students attending our USA Summer Schools may be able to enter the USA on the Visa Waiver programme – we can provide individual support on request for those that do need a visa.

Our English language requirements are as follows:

  • B1 for EFL courses
  • B2 or IELTS level 5.5 – 6.5 for IELTS Preparation
  • C1 or IELTS level 6.5 or higher for all academic courses

Students who have studied at an English speaking school for two or more years are exempt from English requirements.

All our programmes take place in a secure environment. Our students are supervised 24 hours a day by campus staff. All students must check-in regularly during the day: at roll-call at breakfast; at their morning classes; in the afternoon for lessons, workshops or activities; at dinner and in the evening before curfew. All campuses have a curfew.

Each campus office has its own safe where students may deposit items of value such as passports, travel documents, bank cards etc.

All campuses have residential staff who can be contacted 24 hours a day.

Yes, all students will be awarded an Oxford Royale Graduation Certificate upon satisfactory completion of the programme. This will be presented in a graduation ceremony on the final evening of the programme.

It is certainly possible to take more than one programme and combine a variety of study programmes. You can simply book onto two different programmes.

Students staying for two consecutive sessions will be provided with accommodation for the Saturday night, and their campus will provide supervised activities between their first session ending and second session starting. Should you have any queries about how to take more than one programme please do not hesitate to contact us.

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