Liberty Through Virtue
BREAKING NEWS: Our classical liberal arts curriculum at John Adams College
has received an A+ grade by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA).
Only 8 out of over 1100 other colleges have received such a prestigious grade.
(We also have the least expensive tuition of all 8!) (Read more)
John Adams College is an independent classical liberal arts institution in the American West for students seeking a deeper understanding of the world and their responsibility within it. Through rigorous study and Socratic mentorship, we cultivate intellectual depth, moral clarity, and the practical wisdom needed for meaningful careers, responsible citizenship, and leadership in civic and community life. John Adams prepares students to think clearly, communicate persuasively, and lead wisely in the age of AI.
Why John Adams College Exists
Most higher education prepares students to work within existing systems. JAC educates those who create systems — entrepreneurs, statesmen, creators, and original thinkers.
Civilization advances because a minority pushes beyond inherited ideas. JAC exists in this frontier to educate these independent minds, students determined not merely to fit into the world, but to understand and improve it through innovation.
Rather than educate students for a
single job market, we prepare them to
adapt, lead, and think clearly across a lifetime.
These skills allow for the
best possible defense against
an ever-changing job market.
John Adams College is preparing men and women to enter the world defending liberty, standing in humility, and upholding virtue.
What Makes John Adams College Distinct?
Education for the Unknown
We prepare students to confront problems whose solutions do not yet exist. The future belongs to people who can reason, persuade, lead, and adapt.
Unconventional by Design
Our curriculum is deliberately independent of current academic trends while staying true to the model that formed many of history’s greatest leaders.
Socratic, Not Scripted
Students test ideas through sustained dialogue and debate, helping them become unusually capable adults.
Intellectual Rigor Without Apology
We intentionally assign a demanding reading load because serious education requires sustained attention, deep comprehension, and thoughtful engagement with great ideas.
Three Parts of a JAC Degree
Original Sources
JAC offers a four-year Classical Liberal Arts program in which students engage the greatest thinkers of civilization and wrestle with their ideas. Students take a principle, pursue it to real understanding, connect it to other great works, and test its meaning through discussion, the essence of analytical thinking. Good judgment, articulation, and professionalism are the result.
Socratic Discussion
Socratic discussions require students to engage deeply with the readings and one another, to listen, understand, and respond thoughtfully while examining both others’ ideas and their own. Through dialogue grounded in original sources, students sharpen analytical thinking, problem-solving, and diplomacy, a central pillar of John Adams’s educational model.
Application
Discovering true principles requires the courage to apply them in life. Learning alone is meaningless without action. The goal of a classical education is to uncover fundamental truths and use them to better ourselves and the world through confident decision-making and leadership.
John Adams College is demanding. Earning a degree requires hard work,
diligence, and courage, but those who rise to the challenge will be rewarded.
John Adams College prepares students for leadership in an age of AI, institutional distrust, and intellectual fragmentation.
A Classical Liberal Arts Education is becoming
increasingly more practical as our AI economy grows.
What Our Graduates Can Do:
- Lead discussions and teams
- Write and communicate persuasively
- Adapt across industries
- Think independently
- Solve complex problems
- Lead organizations and communities
- Pursue graduate and professional study
- Build businesses and institutions
AI makes these skills more valuable, not less.
These skills are at the heart of
John Adams College, and they work!
John Adams College graduates have been accepted into graduate programs at Columbia, Rutgers, Ralston, Ashland, and Antioch universities, earning over $240,000 in scholarships. Our graduates have also received fellowships at The Spectator World in Washington D.C. and Encounter Books in New York City.
John Adams College:
Applying the Wisdom of the Past
to the Problems of Today and Tomorrow;
Liberty through Virtue.
Every age has its own outlook. It is especially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistake of our own period. And that means the old books.
– C. S. Lewis
– Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba
– Elon Musk
– Steve Jobs
John Adams College is a private, non-profit college
located in Provo, Utah, and is licensed by the State of Utah.
