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| School of Athens by Raphael |
The College of Stoic Philosophers is an on-line school to help people learn and apply Stoicism. In my experience, most people decide to apply to the college and enroll in the Stoic Essentials Course (SES) because there has been some catalyst in their life (e.g. needing improved resiliency, self-exploration, continuing education). The school has observed that there are a lot of people who apply, but a good amount of people don't finish, despite paying $100 for the course. I've had 15 students assigned to me, 8 completed the course, 4 either dropped the course or simply stopped communicating, and 3 are in progress and close to finishing (as of February 2025).
The purpose of this post is to simply give people a bit more detail as to what to expect, in terms of time commitment and work.
Up front, applicants will need to write a "know thyself" essay which is at least 1000 words. The essay is really meant to help the applicant think about why they have decided to join the college as a student and take the SES course (see the SES site for a number of questions the essay needs to address). Besides the essay, the applicant will share a bit more context about him or herself so that their potential mentor can learn about them. The cost of SES is $100 (as of 2025).
After they submit their application, their essay is shared with a faculty member (the mentor), who will read the essay and take the applicant as a student.
After a student is assigned, they are granted access to Moodle (the learning software) after which the student needs to contact (email) their mentor to schedule a conference. This initial meeting usually occurs over video-conference. In the conference, the mentor will explain and provide an overview of SES, and ensure the student has a copy of the course material (John Sellars' book titled Stoicism).
SES is divided into two parts: 4 modules of theory covering an introduction, logic, physics and ethics) and 4 modules on practice (transition, Stoic practices, case studies and essay on duty). During the first 4 modules, the student reads Sellars' Stoicism, takes notes, answers questions and completes a few quizzes. During the second 4 modules, the student goes through a series of practices and writing in an effort to think about how to apply and incorporate Stoicism in their life. In brief, you will need to read a book, take a few quizzes, and write several short answers to questions and write a few short essays.
It is recommended the student take two weeks to complete each module. If the student dedicates 2 to 3 hours per week to read and respond to the short answer sections and brief quizzes, for a total of 4 to 6 hours per module, then there is plenty of time for them to complete SES in two months. I would recommend potential SES students plan to set aside 2 to 3 hours per week over the course of two months, for a total of 16 to 24 hours of effort.
What should you do before you decide to take the leap into SES? Some students already have a deep philosophical or religious background, while others might not know anything about the topics of logic, physics or ethics (I certainly knew nothing of these topics when I took SES). Depending on your level, I would recommend the following primers (if you're brand new to philosophy, watch and read everything, but if you are familiar with philosophy, read the last two articles).
- What is Philosophy?: Crash Course Philosophy #1 by Hank Green
- What is Philosophy? - First Lecture of the Semester by Jeffrey Kaplan
- The History of Philosophy: Origins of Ancient Philosophy Around the Globe by Kelly Macquire
- Socrates (469 - 399 B.C.E.) by James M. Ambury
- Stoicism by Marion Durand, Simon Shogry, Dirk Baltzly
- Epictetus' Enchiridion
- Marcus Aurelius' Meditations
- Chris Fischer's Stoicism on Fire podcast
