OUR ETHOS
We at Harrison Middleton University believe that the pursuit of knowledge should be creative and liberating.
To this end, HMU offers individualized programs of study, flexible scheduling in the service of student needs, one-to-one online discussions with faculty, and curricular options that foster inter- or multidisciplinary study.
Because we believe that access to high-quality education is essential for personal growth and the preservation of democracy, we foster education for all, a community of learners free from the constraints of geographic location and a bricks-and-mortar campus, where programs of study and the scheduling of courses seek to accommodate the challenges of daily life, especially work and family commitments.
HMU students, in pursuit of their academic interests and personal objectives, design programs of study in collaboration with an Instructional Team. Finalized programs include an outline of subject areas and a sequence of classic texts, ancient to modern, that serve as the student’s guiding curriculum for earning a graduate degree in the humanities.
As active learners, HMU students focus on problems of theory, meaning, and application while they engage with faculty in inquiry-based discussions, a method of learning and teaching that allows for rigorous exploration and shared discovery.
Sustaining the values of student-centered education, HMU provides the means for curricular innovation, for the inclusion of diverse primary sources, and for new directions in graduate study and research.
Harrison Middleton University is a great ideas, great works, great conversations, distance learning university that offers graduate education in the humanities with concentrations in imaginative literature, natural science, philosophy and religion, and social science. Harrison Middleton University promotes student-faculty scholarship through research, discussion, and the development of collaborative publications.
OUR MISSION
OUR MISSION
Start Anytime
Students enroll and begin their studies at any time.
Customized Program of Study
With the guidance of an Instructional Team, students build a program of study and develop courses that meet their academic and personal goals.
Work One-to-One with Faculty
Students interact individually with Tutors throughout their coursework. The principal role of the tutors is not to expound doctrines in their particular areas of knowledge, but rather to promote thoughtful inquiry and the productive exchange of ideas.
Distance Program
Students continue their education while maintaining a healthy and satisfying balance of work, family, and community. Students schedule their coursework on dates and times that are convenient for them.
Study the Classics
Students at Harrison Middleton University design their own programs of study based on classics and modern classics in imaginative literature, natural science, philosophy and religion, and social science.
Congratulations to Lea Marshall
Please join HMU Tutors and staff in congratulating Lea Marshall, who successfully completed the Master of Arts at Harrison Middleton University. In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts program, Ms. Marshall submitted the following Capstone: “FABRICATED: Mythical Women Weaving Their Worlds.”
Congratulations to Ralph Johnson
Please join HMU Tutors and staff in congratulating Ralph Johnson, who successfully completed the Doctor of Arts at Harrison Middleton University. In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Arts program, Dr. Johnson submitted the following Capstone: “The Council at Nicaea and the Arian Controversy: A Philosophical Play.”
Congratulations to Sky Duran
Please join HMU Tutors and staff in congratulating Sky Duran, who successfully completed the Master of Arts at Harrison Middleton University. In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts program, Ms. Duran submitted the following Capstone: “Seeking Fate.”
Congratulations 2026 Fellowship in Ideas Recipients
The HMU Fellowship in Ideas is a writing and discussion project in the humanities designed for a recent university graduate from any field who has an interest in the humanities, interdisciplinary dialogue, and intellectual and professional enrichment. Click here to learn more about our 2026 Fellows.
Academic Calendar
Harrison Middleton University will be closed September 26th to October 4th for Fall Recess. Click here to access the academic calendar.
HMU Earns Five-Year Renewal of Accreditation
Harrison Middleton University earned a renewal of accreditation through January 2028 from the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (www.deac.org). Accreditation by DEAC is a reliable indicator of the value and quality of the distance education that an institution offers. In receiving this renewal of accreditation, HMU has demonstrated its commitment to educational standards and ethical business practices that assure quality, accountability, and improvement in higher education. Click here to read more about HMU’s renewal of accreditation.
Poetry Tuesdays
Join Tutor Alissa Simon as we wander through Sze’s tapestries. Alissa will host three sessions (1.5 hours each) on Tuesday evenings. You can register for one, two, or three of these discussions which will be held on Zoom. Email as****@*mu.edu for more information and to register.
- October 6, 2026 from 5-6:30pm PDT
Poetry Tuesdays
Join Tutor Alissa Simon as we wander through Sze’s tapestries. Alissa will host three sessions (1.5 hours each) on Tuesday evenings. You can register for one, two, or three of these discussions which will be held on Zoom. Email as****@*mu.edu for more information and to register.
- October 13, 2026 from 5-6:30 pm PDT
October Quarterly Discussions
Join us for one of the 90-minute conversations. Reach out to Alissa at as****@*mu.edu for more information and to register.
Thursday, October 15th at 5 pm PDT
Saturday, October 17th at 9 am PDT
- October 15th at 5 pm PDT
October Quarterly Discussion
Join us for one of the 90-minute conversations. Reach out to Alissa at as****@*mu.edu for more information and to register.
Thursday, October 15th at 5 pm PDT
Saturday, October 17th at 9 am PDT
- October 17th at 9 am PDT
Poetry Tuesdays
Join Tutor Alissa Simon as we wander through Sze’s tapestries. Alissa will host three sessions (1.5 hours each) on Tuesday evenings. You can register for one, two, or three of these discussions which will be held on Zoom. Email as****@*mu.edu for more information and to register.
- October 20, 2026 from 5-6:30 pm PDT
Marie Teilhard
Bend, Oregon
“Lifelong learning has always been my passion. I chose Harrison Middleton for the intimate academic environment and the ability to study at my own pace. HMU faculty and staff provided superior instruction; my education was filled with lively and provocative academic exchanges.”
Dialogues
DIALOGUES
Blog: join the discussion
August 21, 2026
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
The Book of Job is listed among the Wisdom books in the Bible. So part of my mission with the July Quarterly Discussion was to better understand what wisdom it imparts.
Chapters 28 and 32 of the Book of Job are the only chapters that directly address wisdom, according to the Syntopicon.
August 14, 2026
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
After Job loses everything (including his health), but before his friends come to “comfort” him, Job’s wife offers a rare sentence of advice. No other female speaks in the Book of Job so it caught my eye. She suggests that Job should end his misery. By the end of chapter 2, Job is in a truly pitiful state.
August 7, 2026
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
Before I selected the Book of Job as the focus of the July Quarterly Discussion, I knew a little bit about Job. I’d heard snippets at church, an occasional reference to the plight of the unfortunate, and the question “why do bad things happen to good people?” Honestly, that’s all that I knew of Job. So, imagine my surprise to read forty-two chapters of gorgeous poetry!
LIBRARY
Library
Log in to the HMU Online Library
Harrison Middleton University offers every student access to the Willis Speight Harrison Athenaeum Online Library. Log in here to access HMU Student Resources, JSTOR, Oxford Very Short Introductions, and other resources.
If you are experiencing difficulty with the Online Library, click here for support.
inquiry-based discussion
Selection from a Syntopical Discussion
Inquiry-based discussion or Socratic method is at the heart of Harrison Middleton University’s teaching methodology. Participants in an inquiry-based discussion search for meaning, for answers to fundamental questions of human existence raised by primary texts. In the course of conversation, students interpret the primary text, employ critical reading skills, and call upon previous knowledge and experiences. Throughout their studies, students will engage in a series of one-to-one discussions (via telephone or Zoom) with tutors over the coursework they designed. Click below to listen to a selection from a syntopical discussion between HMU Tutor Dr. Marcus Conley and HMU Ed.D. student John Reynolds. The discussion as a whole explores the idea of truth as addressed by authors such as Augustine, Barth, Locke, Bacon, Mill, and Descartes. In the following selection, the participants consider the different attitudes toward figurative language by Locke and Augustine, then begin to discuss the notion of discipline according to Descartes and Bacon.
