Our Unique Approach
Study with Us
The Camphill School
The Camphill School
Plowshare Farm
Heartbeet Lifesharing
Heartbeet Lifesharing
Camphill Communities California
Camphill Communities California
Copake
Copake
Kimberton Hills
Kimberton Hills
Participating Communities
The Camphill School
Camphill Communities California
Camphill Village Kimberton Hills
Heartbeet Lifesharing
Plowshare Farm
Camphill Village USA
with students also joining this campus from:
Cadmus Lifesharing
Camphill Hudson &
Triform Camphill Community
Our Approach
Camphill Academy’s programs in Inclusive Social Development offer students unique pathways for learning, marked by seven program characteristics informed by our Program Goals.
The programs in Inclusive Social Development take place within participating communities dedicated to inclusive social development, and inclusive community building with adults with developmental disabilities, based on anthroposophic foundations. Students in the Inclusive Social Development programs are full members of these inclusive intentional communities, typically living with fellow community members in lifesharing, cooperative homes. This cooperative approach to living in an intentional community may not be something you have prior experience with, and so we encourage you to learn more about Camphill community life to see if studying with Camphill Academy is right for you. For this reason, prospective students must go through a dual application process with both their participating community and the Camphill Academy. Only those who have been admitted as full members of a participating community are eligible to participate in the Camphill Academy’s Inclusive Social Development programs as students. Click here to learn more about admissions and our dual application process.
All full-time programs in the Camphill Academy emphasize emergent field-based learning, embedded in the experience of community life as practiced in the Camphill Movement. They are rooted in rich and diverse practical experiences, which provide the driving force for the educational process and challenge students to ever further growth in personal capacities, practical skills, insight and understanding. Community life, guided by the ideals and principles of the Camphill Movement, creates an environment that supports personal growth and development on many levels. Much of this growth happens informally, through interactions with people of diverse backgrounds and abilities, and the ongoing need to co-create the social, economic and cultural fabric of the community. Common celebrations and conflict resolution offer opportunities for development, especially when reflected on individually, or in dialogue with others. Students are expected to show initiative and become active, integral members of their community.
Students explore the practical dimensions of their field with a strong emphasis on hands-on experience. As they advance, students take on more responsibility within their community, while still receiving support, feedback and guidance. This deep immersion in practice provides a real-life context for developing insight and conceptual knowledge, with many learning experiences building on students’ practical work. The development of practical skills is a key factor in assessing student progress.
In an experience-based learning process, new ideas emerge through inquiry and reflection, enhanced by dialogue with others. Ideas gained through conversations or reading lead to new experiences, improving perception and action, and raising awareness to unnoticed aspects of reality. Traditional academic practices, such as reading, writing, discussion and reflection remain essential, but are integrated with life experience as well. They are part of the continuous learning cycle that alternates between immersion in life and thoughtful inquiry into its meaning, laws and processes. This makes the entire learning process take on the form of a reflective action-research project.
A significant portion of your learning experience in the Camphill Academy will stem from artistic and contemplative practice. By engaging in artistic activities, students enhance their ability to perceive social and human processes and develop an appreciation for art in all their actions. Reflecting on artistic experiences through practice and discussion helps them gain insight and conceptual understanding. Engagement with artistic processes helps the students build new skills, supporting self-education and self-growth and serves as a basis for exploring the nature of the human being.
Developing skills for contemplative and meditative practice is key to the educational process. The ability to gain insight from experience is a central contemplative skill and is vital for practice-integrated study. It is also essential to the self-development of reflective practitioners. In addition, transdisciplinary practice requires the flexibility to switch between different cognitive modes, such as sense perception, aesthetic appreciation, analytical and conceptual thinking, synthetic and imaginative thinking, moral intuition and practical imagination. This integration is achieved by cultivating contemplative and meditative abilities.
The learning experiences include various formats: hands-on, self-directed and project-based learning, individual mentoring and supervision, retreats, workshops, studio art courses and traditional classroom-based courses. These components combine together into a cohesive educational experience that engages the whole person in a growth and transformation. This experience is inherently challenging, with significant progress often made during moments of crisis.
To help students navigate this process, multiple layers of individualized guidance and support are available. Each cohort of students is accompanied by one or two Class Advisors who are members of the program’s Core Faculty Group. Class Advisors meet with their students weekly to check in, debrief, address questions and concerns and resolve any difficulties. In the practicum placement, each student is assigned a Practicum Supervisor for each practicum experience. Typically, the Practicum Supervisor will be responsible for the setting where the student’s practicum takes place. The Practicum Supervisor develops a Learning Agreement with the student, provides direct and often hands-on instruction, guidance, direction, and feedback, conducts formal evaluations of the student’s work in the practicum setting, and determines whether the student has met the objectives of the practicum at the conclusion of the practicum period. Furthermore, each student is assigned a Personal Tutor/Mentor to meet with weekly. Personal Tutors/Mentors are typically senior members of the students’ community who can effectively assist students in problem solving about any academic or non-academic (i.e., personal, social, practical) issues that arise. Personal Tutors/Mentors are also responsible for assisting and guiding students in their integration into the life of their community.
In addition to the evaluation and assessment processes connected with individual courses, practicum experiences, and projects, each student has an annual mid-year and end-of-year review meeting with their Personal Tutor/Mentor, Class Advisor, Practicum Supervisor, and other invited guests. These conversations create a comprehensive picture of the student’s overall progress toward the broader program objectives and identify potential issues and difficulties arising in the student’s learning path. These comprehensive review conversations are guided by the seven overarching Program Goals, which inform students’ learning path throughout the Camphill Academy.
Our approach places this field of work and its conceptual foundations in a spiritual-philosophic framework known as Anthroposophy, connecting us to colleagues internationally through the Waldorf education and biodynamic agriculture. Throughout our programs anthroposophic approaches and frameworks are brought into dialogue with other streams of thought and practice, enabling students to freely form their own relationship with spirituality in the context of their own biography, communities, and future intentions for practice beyond the Camphill Academy.
The Camphill Academy provides a unique opportunity for students to pursue higher education without the burden of tuition fees through its innovative Community Fellowship model. The Community Fellowship covers all program costs, enabling students to engage fully in the life of their community, gaining practical experience while advancing academically. This model not only alleviates financial stress but also fosters a supportive, collaborative learning environment, making higher education accessible and debt-free. Only students who have been accepted to a participating community and been awarded a Community Fellowship by their participating community are eligible to participate in the Camphill Academy’s Inclusive Social Development programs. Click here to learn more about the Community Fellowship.
The Camphill Academy is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET), an accrediting agency recognized by the US Department of Education.
The Camphill Academy’s learning experiences have been rigorously evaluated and granted substantial College Credit Recommendations (CCRs) by the University of the State of New York’s National College Credit Recommendation Service. This accreditation enables students to complete learning experiences in one of the Academy’s programs in Inclusive Social Development and receive college credits through Excelsior College’s transcript service for purposes of transfer and degree completion.
The Camphill Academy is authorized under Federal law to enroll nonimmigrant alien students at The Camphill School, Camphill Village USA, Camphill Communities California, Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, Heartbeet Lifesharing, and Plowshare Farm locations.
What Do I Learn?
People who work in Inclusive Social Development need the creative skills and personal dispositions to develop a biographically-informed understanding of the human being, cultivate meaningful personal relationships across social or biographical challenges, and enable others to take the lead in their personal and communal lives. Our programs in Inclusive Social Development expose students to a broad range of subjects, including education, anthropology, psychology, social work, practical care and nursing, the arts, agriculture, contemplative practice, policy and history, organizational development, community building, and more. That’s why we call Inclusive Social Development a “social art,” and its practitioners “social artists.”
We condense this wide range of subjects, concepts, skills, and attitudes into seven overarching program goals, known as the fundamental dispositions for practitioners in Inclusive Social Development:
These seven program goals are used as a tool for formal and informal self-assessment throughout the programs. You can read more about our approach to assessment and evaluation in our Program Handbook.
Ready to Start Your Journey?
We are here to answer your questions or get your application started. Contact us or apply today!
