The New Jersey Scholars Program provides a dynamic learning environment at the Lawrenceville School where 39 able and motivated high school students experience the life of the mind as they have never done before. Scholars plunge into an inter-disciplinary college-level five-week summer program, expanding their intellectual abilities by approaching the summer’s topic from many different directions. The Scholars learn and live together, stimulating and supporting each other as they wrestle with the challenges posed by this new approach to learning. Program Theme – Wartime Cultures: Knowledge and Art in Conflict and the Aftermath War is undoubtedly the worst thing any nation can endure, and only a select few nations on the planet are untouched by it. For all of its many horrors, though, war and the need for restoration in its aftermath is an incredibly motivating force for many varieties of cultural production, and across the entire span of human history people have been forced to innovate in order to survive international, civil, and global conflicts. For instance, a century of external and internal strife drove the citizens of ancient Athens to produce incredible works of dramatic poetry and history as a means of coping with the realities of warfare. Eras of crusades and counter jihads enmeshed half the world in brutal hostilities, but also in part gave rise to renaissances in Europe, Africa, and the Near East. Advances in technology and political thought ushered in unprecedented moments of bloodshed and environmental destruction, along with the need to find new avenues for restoring peace and healing bodies, souls, and landscapes. In modern history, competition between and within nations has launched everything from weapons of war to genres of arts and literature to monumental advances in science, technology, manufacturing, and computing. This summer the New Jersey Scholars Program invites talented, creative, and ambitious students from across the state to apply for a rigorous and deeply rewarding academic and residential experience. Work alongside talented and dedicated faculty with a new class of promising minds who by better understanding our past will help create a better future.

A crucial part of the magic of the New Jersey Scholars Program (NJSP) derives from the fact that the Scholars live together for five weeks in one dormitory with each sex residing on separate floors. Together they help each other rise to the challenges posed by NJSP. The camaraderie that develops is extraordinary. With their resident housemaster and assistant housemasters, the Scholars learn to live together, learn together, and laugh together. Athletics provide a useful way to rest the brain and are conveniently accessible at The Lawrenceville School’s athletic facilities – where the Scholars can enjoy a variety of athletics. Scholars also organize a few off-campus jaunts for a change of pace. The program ends with a graduation ceremony to which all parents and families are invited. All-in-all, the New Jersey Scholars Program offers an extraordinary experience. It is funded by private contributions.