Minerva Project and KGI Partner to Launch the Minerva Schools at KGI

SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Minerva Project, reinventing the university experience to develop global leaders and innovators across disciplines, and Keck Graduate Institute (KGI), a member of The Claremont University Consortium, today announced an innovative new partnership in higher education. KGI, an institution accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), is partnering with Minerva Project to launch the Minerva Schools at KGI, with the first class matriculating in the fall of 2015. The Minerva Schools' unique undergraduate program will complement KGI's current graduate-level offerings, expanding its portfolio and providing opportunities for student, faculty and administrative collaboration. The KGI-Minerva relationship and new programs are pending WASC approval.

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"Educational models that improve upon the best programs currently available don't come along that often," said Sheldon Schuster, president, KGI. "We believe that Minerva Project is such a model, and, more importantly, we believe that its mission fits in perfectly with KGI's commitment to challenge higher education conventions and to foster innovation, active learning, and entrepreneurship. We have no doubt that the collaboration between KGI and Minerva will bring many benefits to our students and to the Institute as whole."

The KGI Board of Trustees approved the partnership with Minerva at the end of June, understanding that it would help both institutions to achieve their stated missions. The two institutions will work together to refine and improve strategies for student learning at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, to expand the team-based learning model, to increase students' global competency, and to further their shared interdisciplinary approach to academics.

The Minerva Schools, like KGI's graduate programs, will help high-performing students become mature, confident individuals and put them on a path to meaningful careers and fulfilling lives. The highly selective undergraduate program will offer students from around the world the opportunity to learn from accomplished faculty versed in the latest teaching methodologies to ensure positive student learning outcomes.

"Minerva Project is pleased to have found in KGI a forward-thinking university partner whose philosophy and values align closely with our own," said Ben Nelson, founder and CEO of Minerva Project. "As the most recent member of the pioneering Claremont University Consortium, KGI proved to be a major innovator in higher education when it created the first-of-its-kind professional science master's degree in 1997. Today, more than 130 institutions have established nearly 300 such programs. By partnering with KGI, Minerva is following one of the established paths to accreditation as set forth by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and strives to have a similar impact on higher education as a whole."

As previously announced, Dr. Stephen M. Kosslyn will be the founding dean of the Minerva Schools. Kosslyn previously served as the Director of the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and as Dean of Social Sciences at Harvard University.

About KGI

Founded in 1997, Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences is the only graduate institution in the United States devoted solely to bioscience education and discovery. KGI is the seventh and newest member of the Claremont University Consortium. Its mission is to further education and research aimed at translating into practice, for the benefit of society, the power and potential of the life sciences. http://www.kgi.edu/

About Minerva Project

Minerva Project is reinventing the university experience for the brightest, most motivated students. Minerva will draw on the best traditions of a research-based university education while leveraging cutting-edge technologies and harvesting decades of research on student learning and success. Minerva is committed to providing an unparalleled educational experience for preparing global leaders for the 21st century. Minerva was founded by CEO Ben Nelson in 2011 and received a $25 million seed investment from Benchmark Capital in 2012.  http://www.minervaproject.com.

SOURCE Minerva Project