Ralston College is a private unaccreditedliberal arts college in Savannah, Georgia.[1] It describes itself as being dedicated to "freedom of thought and speech",[2] and is associated with prominent conservative figures,[3][4] with Stephen Blackwood as president, Jordan B. Peterson as Chancellor and funding from conservative activists including Paul Marshall.[5] Ralston College started accepting graduate students to its one-year MA in the Humanities in the summer of 2022.
Ralston's first class of MA students began classes in the fall of 2022,[10] with classes held in the education building of St. John's Episcopal Church.[11]
Ralston College has received criticism for a series of high-level terminations.[11] In March 2023, a member of Ralston's Board of Visitors, Harvey Silverglate, resigned his position and stated that the college was "antithetical to the whole concept of a liberal arts institution".[11]
The college has acquired property in the historic Savannah area,[12] which totals 50,000 square feet as of April 2024.[13]
Academics
Ralston College's curriculum focuses on the liberal arts: after a term studying Ancient Greek and Modern Greek in Greece, the following three terms of the MA in the Humanities focus on ancient, medieval and modern literary texts and works of arts.[14][1] Blackwood has stated that Ralston aims “to play a role in the renewal of the conditions for human flourishing”.[4] The one-year MA program revolves around particular philosophical themes that last the entire year: for example, the "human self" and "the whole."[15]
