Gutenberg College: Great Books. Great Conversation. Great Education.

Image: https://gutenberg.edu/events/winter-institute-2026-love

Gutenberg College is a small, private, four-year liberal arts institution located in Eugene, Oregon. It grew out of the McKenzie Study Center, a Christian ministry that was founded in 1979 to present a biblical worldview to University of Oregon (UO) students.

Gutenberg operates as a non-profit corporation authorized by the State of Oregon to offer and confer a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts. The college is fully accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS). Their curriculum is taught from a biblical Christian perspective, though the staff and faculty is not associated with any one denomination.

Gutenberg’s great books education stands out as both unusual and valuable. This alternative approach to education does not emphasize the vocational skills and specialization of most undergraduate degrees, seeking instead to produce individuals who are well-read, well-reasoned, and articulate.

The Gutenberg curriculum requires learning one “dead” (no longer spoken) language and one “living” (currently spoken) language. Classical Greek will equip students to read Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles, Thucydides, and the New Testament. German is the most important language of research in most academic disciplines.

Here’s an outline summarizing what makes Gutenberg College unique:

Overview

• Founded: 1994
• Type: Private, four-year college
• Focus: Great Books curriculum with a Socratic teaching style
• Motto: Great Books, Great Conversation
• Enrollment: Extremely small, with a total enrollment of fewer than 50 students.

Campus

• Housed in a historic Jacobean-style building originally built in 1927.
• Urban setting with many nearby outdoor recreational opportunities such as hiking, camping, kayaking, fishing, mountaineering, and skiing.
• Eugene is home to the Oregon Bach Festival, and a little more than two hours away from the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
• Eugene is located in Oregon’s beautiful Willamette Valley, within an hour’s drive to the scenic Oregon coastline, lush forests, and stunning Cascade Mountains.
• Eugene is the second-most populous city in Oregon, approximately 110 miles south of Portland.

Academics

• Curriculum: Rooted in the Western intellectual tradition, students read and discuss classic texts in philosophy, literature, theology, and science. All students read the same works over the four-year program.
• Pedagogy: Emphasizes conversation over lectures, encouraging deep engagement with ideas. To promote lively round-table discussions, classes are kept small, usually five to twelve students.
• Coursework: Two years of classical Greek; two years of German; two years of math (ancient and modern); two years of Western Civilization (Great Books readings); two years of Great Conversation (more in-depth Great Books readings), four years of Microexegesis (practicums in reading difficult texts), and several classes and practicums in physics, biology, chemistry, and art.
• Senior Year: During the senior year, each student writes an extensive thesis dealing with an issue discussed by two classic authors. Gutenberg students have a strong foundation to pursue many graduate programs directly after graduation.

Philosophy

• Gutenberg College is committed to fostering a biblical worldview and helping students pursue truth through rigorous intellectual inquiry.
• It does not participate in government-funded financial aid programs, maintaining independence in its educational approach.

Tuition & Admissions

• Tuition: Approximately $12,650 per year
• Admission Rate: Varies by source, reported between 64% and 100%
• Application Deadline: Typically June 1

Homeschool Applicants

Several of Gutenberg’s founders and current faculty have homeschooled their children and recognize the benefits of this approach. Homeschooled students who aspire to enroll at Gutenberg College will be well served by studying history, philosophy, literature, foreign language, writing, science, math, and art. The homeschool course of study must be documented in a transcript, which should include the following items:

• Course title (for example, “Algebra I” or “Biology”)
• Year course taken (for example, “2016-2017” or “Senior Year”)
• Grade received (A–F)
• Credits received (a typical half-year course is 5 credits, and a one-year course is 10 credits.)
• Date of graduation (or expected date of graduation)
• Signature of principal (either the parent or a homeschool-program administrator)

Homeschooled students without a traditional high school diploma or a GED certificate will be required to have one the following test scores to be eligible for admission:

• SAT: 530 or better on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section or a combined score of 980 or better on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section and the Math section
• ACT: 19
• CLT: 58

Learn more here: https://gutenberg.edu/admissions/how-to-apply/homeschool-students