Why Dialogue?

A group of people sitting around a dining table engaged in conversation in a well-lit room with large windows. Some individuals are eating, chatting, or listening, with others in the background.

Today, students' ability to navigate disagreement and demonstrate dialogue skills is a critical college competency. Many selective universities prioritize high school applicants who can bridge differences, lead difficult conversations, and contribute to pluralistic academic communities.

The Columbia Summer Institute for Dialogue and Civic Practice prepares high school students to meet these demands by equipping them with rigorous, practice-based dialogue skills grounded in real campus experience. Before entering college.

Why Columbia?

A group of people sitting in chairs on a lawn, with a large neoclassical building with columns and a dome in the background, under a partly cloudy sky.

Across the US, colleges have struggled with polarization and conflict. At Columbia, we responded with the Listening Tables, a face-to-face dialogue initiative that builds trust through genuine listening and structured conversation. Our high school program is rooted in this work and builds on a simple but powerful formula: students practice dialogue through in-person exercises and class activities—without social media, AI, or screens —to build understanding across difference.

What Students Gain

Our high school program offers students tools to develop a comprehensive skill set in listening and dialogue, taught by Columbia faculty. Students acquire:

• Advanced listening and dialogue skills.

• Experience navigating disagreement constructively.

• Practice engaging complex civic and social issues.

• Documented dialogue experience for college essays and interviews.

Close-up of the Thinker sculpture by Auguste Rodin, showing a contemplative man sitting on a rock with his chin resting on his hand, outdoors with a building and leafless trees in the background.

We are Now Accepting Applications for our Advanced Dialogue and Research Courses in Summer 2027.

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