Reliance College

06/26/2026

What does it really mean to be free—and what do we give up (if anything) to live together?

This summer, explore Rousseau and other great thinkers in a week of bold conversation, big questions, and fresh perspectives.

🧠 July 25 – Aug 1, 2026 | Chicago | Ages 16–24 | Great Connections Seminar

𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙩 www.reliancecollege.org/seminar.

06/22/2026

What if you could step into the places where history’s greatest thinkers lived, reasoned, and transformed the world? For Bill Rein, The Great Connections program did just that.

From reading Aristotle at Aristotle’s Lagoon to exploring Plato’s Academy in Greece, Bill experienced the ideas of these great minds not as distant relics but as living, practical lessons. The program goes beyond textbooks—it’s about learning in context and connecting timeless ideas to real-world action.

The result? A deeper understanding of philosophy, history, and how to apply these principles to make the world a better place.

✨ 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗴𝗼! ✨

Join us to discover how timeless ideas can transform your future. Apply today: www.reliancecollege.org/seminar

06/12/2026

🎓 College degrees are losing value. AI is replacing entry-level jobs. So what can actually prepare you for a future of constant change?

👉 Read how the liberal arts - and a Great Books education - could be the answer.

The AI boom is eliminating jobs and exposing skill gaps—learn why liberal arts might be the smartest path to thrive in an unpredictable job market.

06/11/2026

Education beyond the lecture hall: At Reliance College, we embrace an ownership model that puts you in control of your learning journey.

By diving deep into texts, understanding authors' reasoning, and defending your ideas, you gain the skills needed for meaningful dialogue and collaboration in civil society.

It's more than education—it’s preparation for a future where understanding diverse perspectives and finding common ground matters most.

𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝘁 www.reliancecollege.org/seminar

06/11/2026

Each year at the Great Connections Summer Seminar, students ages 16-24 hail from places such as Argentina, Guatemala, Ecuador, and all directions of the U.S. One participant came because her sister loved it so much she returned three times! ❤️

At the end of the week, students testified that the program had not only significantly enriched their ability to think well and their knowledge, but also their understanding of what is going on in the world. And it had also buoyed their spirits!

They were especially impacted by their ability to speak their minds without fear of criticism, shunning, or reprisal.

They became great friends and allies in the quest for successful lives, grasping the great connections between reason and love. 🤝

We still have a few openings for the 2026 Great Connections Seminar: Reason and Love. Apply today at www.reliancecollege.org/seminar

06/11/2026

At Reliance College’s Great Connections, learning extends far beyond the classroom. Students from across the globe come together, many exploring a new city for the first time.

At our annual Summer Seminar in Chicago, this means diving into the city’s rich history with scavenger hunts, discovering landmarks, and of course, enjoying iconic deep-dish pizza.

Whether exploring the Great Fire’s legacy or immersing yourself in local culture abroad, the program combines intellectual growth with unforgettable real-world experiences.

06/10/2026

In 2008, an unknown figure named Satoshi Nakamoto released a nine-page white paper that introduced Bitcoin - a peer-to-peer digital cash system. It wasn’t just a payment tool; it was the blueprint for a decentralized monetary network that could operate without banks or governments.

Bitcoin has since sparked a global movement, created a trillion-dollar industry, and challenged the foundations of modern finance. But what kind of mind could imagine such a thing?

At Reliance College, we believe the answer points to the liberal arts at their best: not abstract theory, but a framework for understanding - and changing - the world.

Satoshi’s design wasn’t born of one specialty. It required:

👉 Cryptography to secure transactions

👉 Computer science to coordinate a decentralized network

👉 Economics to understand money and inflation

👉 Game theory to align incentives without coercion

👉 Political philosophy to imagine money beyond state control

👉 Mathematics to model risk and probability

👉 Software engineering to make it all run in the real world

Bitcoin, in other words, is a liberal-arts achievement disguised as code.

At Reliance, we train students the same way: to grasp complex systems, ask fundamental questions, and connect ideas across domains.

Read Plato or Hayek, and you’re learning about justice, value, and order.

Study mathematics, and you sharpen the rigor Satoshi used. Engage in collaborative problem-solving, and you practice the reasoning his protocol encoded.

Satoshi didn’t just write code - he made a moral statement about trust and human coordination. He was a systems thinker. That’s exactly what a true liberal-arts education produces.

Whether or not you become the next Nakamoto, you’ll live in a world shaped by people like him. To understand it - or reshape it - you need more than technical training. You need the intellectual range of the liberal arts.

That’s what we offer at Reliance College.

Because the world doesn’t need more rule-followers.

It needs more builders.

06/10/2026

In The Great Connections Seminars, we use specialized methods which strengthen reasoning skills and independent judgment.

These include a focus on the objective basis of knowledge in every field, physics to poetry, as well as the relation between abstract ideas and real-world consequences.

We combine these methods with content from world-changing classic texts, modern science and economics, and a special emphasis on reasoning, logic, psychological self-awareness, and practical skills, for a content-rich program.

Students learn to think for themselves as well as implement ideas in the world.

06/10/2026

💡 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 “𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹”?

Think again.

According to the New York Federal Reserve, graduates in Philosophy are currently facing 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 than those in:

✅ Computer Science
✅ Business Management
✅ Chemistry
✅ Public Policy
✅ And even Economics.

At Reliance College, we ground students in the Great Books and collaborative Socratic inquiry—not to escape the real world, but to master it.

Our students learn how to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems—the exact skills top employers are desperate for.

🎓 In a rapidly changing economy, deep thinkers have the edge.

👉 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿—a powerful, three-day immersion in reasoning, dialogue, and self-discovery in downtown Chicago, IL!

🔗 www.reliancecollege.org/seminar

06/10/2026

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲, 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘅, 𝗔𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗲, 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼… 𝗻𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲!" 💡

At the Great Connections Seminar, participants dive into powerful, often contradictory ideas from history’s greatest thinkers. Rather than being told what to believe, students are challenged to critically analyze, discuss, and form their own conclusions. 🙌

The result? A transformative experience that sharpens your ability to think independently and argue effectively.