The 14 professors behind the project include evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins A new British university aiming to rival Oxford and Cambridge has been launched by leading academics.
New College of the Humanities (NCH) offer the “highest-quality” education to “gifted” undergraduates, its creators say.
The privately-funded independent London college will charge £18,000 fees and open in September 2012.
The 14 professors involved include biologist Richard Dawkins and eminent historian Sir David Cannadine.
Based in Bloomsbury, central London, the college will offer eight undergraduate humanities degrees taught by some of the world’s most prominent intellectuals, officials said.
Professor AC Grayling, the philosopher who will be the college’s first Master, secured millions of pounds of funding from investors to set up the institution.
He said: “Our priorities at the college will be excellent teaching quality, excellent ratios of teachers to students, and a strongly supportive and responsive learning environment.
“Our students will be challenged to develop as skilled, informed and reflective thinkers, and will receive an education to match that aspiration.”
The college will prepare undergraduates for degrees in Law, Economics and humanities subjects including History, Philosophy and English literature.
Students will also take three “intellectual skills” modules in science literacy, logic and critical thinking and applied ethics.
The college claims to offer a “new model of higher education for the humanities in the UK”.
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