The Milestone Institute offers four separate programmes (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior) that run in parallel with the four years of high school. While students can join at any of the four entry points, the curriculum has been designed to work accumulatively, developing academic knowledge and skills as well as offering options for progressive specialisation over the years spent at the Institute.
Freshman – Areas of Study and Essential Skills
The ambition of the Freshman programme is to open students’ eyes to the world around them, and help them widen their horizons. By building on three mandatory modules with a broad scope – Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities – students gain an understanding of how the disciplines they study separately at school are intrinsically connected. While covering advanced topics stretching from genetics to nationalism, there is still a sense of playfulness to the tuition, with each module organised around a particular game.
Learning outcomes:
- Understanding of interdisciplinary connections
- Understanding of core concepts in social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, and the arts
- Skills: academic research, academic writing, presentations, group work, problem-solving
Specific goals: academic orientation
Sophomore – Concepts and Themes
The goal of the Sophomore programme is to develop students’ capacity for abstraction, offering modules organised around particular themes through which they can explore connections in depth. Modules such as Infinity (literature, philosophy and mathematics), Artificial Intelligence (cognitive psychology and computer science), or Anatomy (art and biology) bring together students with a diverse set of interests and skills and offer novel ways to introduce interdisciplinary perspectives, methods and topics.
Learning outcomes:
- Understanding of interdisciplinary connections
- Understanding of overarching themes
- Developing the capacity for abstraction
- Application of abstract concepts
- Skills: academic research, academic writing, presentations, group work, problem-solving
Specific goal: application to international exchange programmes
Junior – Method and Theory
The Junior programme builds on the progress made in the first two years by introducing students to specific skills and methodologies in order to prepare the ground for the disciplinary immersion of the final year. From statistics and calculus to programming, logic, and primary source analysis, the modules provide insights into a variety of academic directions and offers novel ways to prepare for these. The Junior year also helps students become acquainted with specific topics, core concepts and relevant theories in related disciplines. Whether through topics like corruption, theories like rational choice or ideas of gender and class, students gain a broad understanding of the challenges facing contemporary society.
Learning outcomes:
- Understanding and use of specific methodological tools
- Understanding the weaknesses of and debates surrounding these tools
- Familiarity with core concepts and theories across related disciplines
- Providing focus for disciplinary orientation
- Preparation for academic competitions
- Skills: academic research, academic writing, presentations, group work, problem-solving
Specific goal: participation in international academic competitions, publication/conference attendance or advanced projects
Senior Year – Disciplinary Focus and Immersion
The Senior programme leads students into in-depth study of academic disciplines, offering both a broad overview of university-level tuition, as well as modules dedicated to sub-disciplines or particular research interests. With modules that cover the arts and humanities and the natural and numerical sciences equally, students can combine several complementary subject interests and gain insights into current debates and research findings, as well as into the use of cutting-edge technologies.
Learning outcomes:
- Understanding of chosen disciplines and their methodologies
- Understanding of key debates and concepts in the chosen field(s)
- Understanding of the underlying theoretical principles
- Understanding of the university application process and strengths of different institutions
Specific goal: university applications