Intensive
Leadership Education Studies
Get access to a recording of the TJEd Depth launch webinars.
Learn the context of Depth Phase in our times, the societal calling being extended to each of us, and the vital Depth Phase lessons necessary to gain an education to match our missions.
TJEd Depth is committed to developing
New Founders around the world.
Right now, most colleges do not offer the 5 Pillars of Statesmanship
that are key to Depth Phase.
Pillar 1: Classics
Pillar 2: Mentors
Pillar 3: Simulations
Pillar 4: Field Experience
Pillar 5: Providence
The world needs what you were born to deliver. You need An Education to Match Your Mission.
Don’t settle for anything less than a truly superb Depth Phase education.
Unsure About What’s Next?
Looking for a different option than a modern conveyor-belt college?
Let’s be real: Many colleges and universities are seriously lacking today.
With few exceptions, most colleges and universities are not producing the results you are looking for. Increasingly, they churn out graduates who are ill-equipped for life and unable to practice in the field in which they majored. At the same time, they are failing to instill the necessary skills and knowledge to guide young adults through the shifting tectonics of the 21st century, much less the foundations and principles of amplifying freedom for all.
Faced with this reality, you may feel confused about what to do next. You feel responsible for your future, but uncertain about the best path forward. The questions of where to go and what to do next come to the forefront.
At this critical branching of paths, you may be wondering what the next step even is.
Never in history has a great
Depth Phase been more important.
The truth is that it has never been more critical for young adults to get a truly excellent Depth Phase.
It has been said that freedom is only ever one generation away from being lost.
Some of us must get the education that builds and perpetuates a free and prosperous society for generations to come. This must include the 5 Pillars of Statesmanship—Classics, Mentors, Simulations, Field Experience, Providence—but in today's bureaucratic, conveyor-belt-style colleges and universities, this kind of education is hard to find and rare to get.
TJEd Depth is specifically designed to help young adults get this kind of education—to develop New Founders around the world. Using a combination of great classics and mentoring, it inspires a truly superb Leadership Education that yields not simply a “Hire Education”, but a Higher Education.
The world needs so much more from its young adults.
The World needs you to get an education—a Depth Phase—to match your Mission.
TJEd Depth is an Intensive
Mentoring Opportunity
No credits, no grades, no B.S.'s, no socialist indoctrination. Simply great classics and superb mentoring.
This is an intensive program for a great Leadership Education.
This program has been several years in the making, and we are thrilled to finally launch and set it loose on the world!
TJEd Depth
Simply Great Education
How will this help me gain a high level of education for our day and age?
It’s a community to discuss with, to hone ideas with, to share suggestions with, to collaborate with.
You will tap into and gain valuable real-life experience with the
5 Pillars of Statesmanship
Classics - Mentors - Simulations - Field Experience - Providence
Actually start implementing what you are learning in the world right away
Become conversant in the language of the classics
Really own the principles of Leadership Education so you can act with confidence, vision, and purpose.
All this is accomplished according to your level of engagement through the 3 Parts of TJEd Depth.
Part 1
The Course
Read and Discuss
Great Classics
Part 2
Field Experience & Simulations
We will research, create,
and publish for impact.
Part 3
Expanded Depth Studies
We will fill in gaps
and develop needed skills.
Introducing Mentors for TJEd Depth
Ian Cox
Ian Cox is a partner, mentor, content creator, and featured presenter for Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd.org), and does one-on-one mentoring for young adults, parents, and professionals seeking a quality, classical leadership education. Ian is currently the administrator and a lead mentor for TJEd’s teen mentoring service, TJEd High!
He has mentored writing, classical math, economics, history, simulations, speech and debate, personal mission discovery, and classics—all mixed together with whatever fascinating tangential topics come along.
Ian loves reading, basketball, and discussing deep ideas on history and political science. Ian and his wife Emma have two sons and two daughters.
Oliver DeMille
Oliver DeMille is one of the great optimistic and pragmatically-minded freedom fighters of our age.
He is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Globe and Mail and USA Today bestselling author, a founding partner of The Center for Social Leadership and the author of A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the 21st Century. He has mentored the classics for over thirty years.
Oliver is a powerful commentator on trends and current events, and a popular keynote speaker, writer and business consultant. Presently, he is active as the Senior Mentor for TJEd High!, Mentoring in the Classics and the Black Belt in Freedom program and he devotes a majority of his time to writing and mentoring. Oliver and his wife Rachel have eight children and eleven grandchildren.
You can find his writings on freedom, politics and current events on his personal blog at OliverDeMille.com.
What Are People Saying
About Leadership Education?
“[Leadership Education] has changed my family’s life and has given me the tools to learn about freedom, the history, the principles, the future and how every decision affects it! I have found my passion to encourage others to learn these principles too! They are not taught in school! The presenters are experts in freedom and rank among the few people I know with true character and servant hearts. Their education is always super reasonably priced!”
~K.L.W.
“WOW! this semester has been the best ever! I have done more in this school year (and read more books in less than 3 months) than I ever have. I have gone from not trying to loving it!”
What Is TJEd Depth?
With TJEd Depth you will connect with peers in the trenches, experienced mentors,
and guided projects and simulations that relate directly to your mission and the world’s current needs.
With each course and every week, you will have the opportunity to customize your level of engagement. TJEd Depth utilizes our proven method of self-selection in several learning tracks with graduated levels of intensity, and is designed to facilitate those just trying to find their footing in Depth Phase, while providing virtually unlimited challenge and opportunity for any veteran of Mission Phase.
Life comes in cycles with ebbs and flows. This is ok; this is right; this is good.
You should not expect to be able to accomplish everything all of the time; we will meet you where you are and invite you to lean in and do just a bit more. We will inspire you to continue to “exercise.” We will spur you to continually improve, little by little, step by step.
We will coach you as you discover, prepare for and then pursue your life’s mission.
Simply Great Education
To Actually Influence the World
There are 3 Components to
the TJEd Depth Mentoring Program
Part 1
The Course
Read and Discuss
Great Classics
Part 2
Field Experience & Simulations
We will research, create,
and publish for impact.
Part 3
Expanded Depth Studies
We will fill in gaps
and develop needed skills.
Before we get into the specifics, we have a disclaimer:
We’re not in this to just just read some old books and intellectualize about them.
We’re in this to actually help you get an education to match your mission for the needs of the real and current world.
Ours is a mentored process, not a rigid, arbitrary conveyor-belt approach. This means that any given course is subject to change in order to personalize for an individual, as well as to create real-time responsiveness to the issues and events of the day.
We know that adulting life brings spur-of-the-moment changes or occurrences that can make things tough at times. We don’t take our role as mentors, the needs of mission, or the needs of the world lightly. We help you to learn how to do the next right thing, to do what is yours, to do what you can and not do what you can’t. This is the name of the game. This is a great skill to develop as you pursue a great education throughout your entire life. Growth and development doesn’t happen once, and then it’s done. It really is a life-long, active state of being. It’s a habit to develop and maintain.
Because education matters so much—because your mission matters so much—we will personalize mentoring to actually get results.
This is special. And it’s a lot of fun!
Now, on to the nitty-gritty!
Part 1
The Course
Each course is a 6-week focused study with a cohort of students on the same track in real time. It consists of a published reading schedule, a private, dedicated online Forum where students and mentors discuss, and M/W/F recorded debriefings from your mentors that anchor and expand your learning related to the readings.
At the completion of the six weeks, the course will be added to the TJEd Depth Index included in Part 3: Expanded Depth Studies. Archived courses will be accessible to you while you remain subscribed.
As needed/at the mentors’ discretion, and in response to group dynamics, readings, discussions and/or current issues and events, we will amend the syllabus schedule and convene live video call discussions, seminars, and simulations to be announced on the Discussion Forum and via email.
Year 1 Course 1 Reading Debriefs
College Prep: Inoculation to Socialism
Start Date: 1/16/23
Approximate reading hours: 59
Week | Monday Debrief | Wednesday Debrief | Friday Debrief |
1 | 19 Apps, DeMille 1/2 | 19 Apps, DeMille 2/2 | The Socialism Myth, DeMille |
2 | A Thomas Jefferson Education, DeMille 1/2 | Animal Farm, Orwell | The Right and Wrong of Compulsion by the State, Herbert |
3 | A Thomas Jefferson Education, DeMille 2/2 | What is Seen and What is Not Seen, Bastiat | The Naked Communist, Skousen 1/3 |
4 | The Closing of the American Mind, Bloom 1/3 | The Would-Be Gentleman, Moliere | The Naked Communist, Skousen 2/3 |
5 | The Closing of the American Mind, Bloom 2/3 | The Law, Bastiat | The Naked Communist, Skousen 3/3 |
6 | The Closing of the American Mind, Bloom 3/3 | A World Split Apart, Solzhenitsyn | The Inner Ring, Lewis |
Year 1 Course 2 Reading Debriefs
Foundation 1: The Freedom Experiment
Start Date: 3/6/23
Approximate reading hours: 88.9
Week | Monday Debrief | Wednesday Debrief | Friday Debrief |
1 | Declaration of Independence (1776) & U.S. Constitution (1787) | The U.S. Constitution and the 196 Indispensable Principles of Freedom, DeMille 1/4 | Democracy in America Volume 2, Tocqueville 1/5 |
2 | Marbury v. Madison (1803) | The U.S. Constitution and the 196 Indispensable Principles of Freedom, DeMille 2/4 | Democracy in America Volume 2, Tocqueville 2/5 |
3 | McCullough v. Maryland (1819) | NONE | Democracy in America Volume 2, Tocqueville 3/5 |
4 | History of the American People, Johnson 1/3 | NONE | Democracy in America Volume 2, Tocqueville 4/5 |
5 | Second Treaty of Paris (1783) & Jay Treaty (1794) | History of the American People, Johnson 2/3 | Democracy in America Volume 2, Tocqueville 5/5 |
6 | Articles of Confederation (1781) | The Bill of Rights & The Amendments | History of the American People, Johnson 3/3 |
Year 1 Course 3 Reading Debriefs
Foundation 2: Socialism Inoculation 2.0
Start Date: 4/24/23
Approximate reading hours: 62
Week | Monday Debrief | Wednesday Debrief | Friday Debrief |
1 | The Communist Manifesto, Marx & Engels | The Gulag Archipelago Abridged, Solzhenitsyn 1/3 | Democracy in America Volume 1, Tocqueville 1/5 |
2 | The Origins of Inequality, Rosseau | The Gulag Archipelago Abridged, Solzhenitsyn 2/3 | Democracy in America Volume 1, Tocqueville 2/5 |
3 | The Republic, Plato 1/4 | The Gulag Archipelago Abridged, Solzhenitsyn 3/3 | Democracy in America Volume 1, Tocqueville 3/5 |
4 | The Republic, Plato 2/4 | NONE | Democracy in America Volume 1, Tocqueville 4/5 |
5 | The Republic, Plato 3/4 | Rules for Radicals, Alinsky 1/2 | Democracy in America Volume 1, Tocqueville 5/5 |
6 | The Republic, Plato 4/4 | Rules for Radicals, Alinsky 2/2 | The Socialism Myth, DeMille |
Year 1 Course 4 Reading Debriefs
The Regional Constitution
Start Date: 6/19/23
Approximate reading hours: 70.5
Week | Monday Debrief | Wednesday Debrief | Friday Debrief |
1 | NONE | The Constitution of Massachusetts 1780 | Genesis, Exodus 1/2 |
2 | NONE | The Pennsylvania Constitution 1776 | Exodus 2/2, Leviticus |
3 | Washington’s First Inaugural Address (1789) | The Constitution of Delaware 1792 | Numbers, Deuteronomy |
4 | On Civil and Natural Rights, Jefferson (1816) | Understanding State Constitutions, Tarr 1/3 | The Spirit of the Law, Montesquieu 1/3 |
5 | On Limiting the Power of the Supreme Court, Legare (1828) | Understanding State Constitutions, Tarr 2/3 | The Spirit of the Law, Montesquieu 2/3 |
6 | “The Star-Spangled Banner”, Key (1814) (If you are not from the US, then add your nation’s anthem) | Understanding State Constitutions, Tarr 3/3 | The Spirit of the Law, Montesquieu 3/3 |
Year 1 Course 5 Reading Debriefs
Perspectives of Freedom
Start Date: 8/14/23
Approximate reading hours: 57.4
Week | Monday Debrief | Wednesday Debrief | Friday Debrief |
1 | NONE | We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident, DeMille | Commentaries on the Laws of England, Introduction to Book 1, Blackstone 1/2 |
2 | The Monroe Doctrine (1823) | The U.S. Constitution and the 196 Indispensable Principles of Freedom, DeMille 3/4 | Commentaries on the Laws of England, Introduction to Book 1, Blackstone 2/2 |
3 | A Summary View of the Rights of British America, Jefferson, et al. (1774) | The U.S. Constitution and the 196 Indispensable Principles of Freedom, DeMille 4/4 | NONE |
4 | Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) | View of the Constitution of the United States, Tucker 1/3 | The Federalist A) Unity |
5 | Emancipation Proclamation (1863) | View of the Constitution of the United States, Tucker 1/3 | The Federalist F) History of Free Nations, E) Problems with Articles of Confederation |
6 | State Authority Versus Federal Supremacy in Law Enforcement Letters, Cleveland & Altgeld (1894) | View of the Constitution of the United States, Tucker 1/3 | The Federalist D) Types of Popular Governments, NONE |
Year 1 Course 6 Reading Debriefs
Governance
Start Date: 10/23/23
Approximate reading hours: 65.5
Week | Monday Debrief | Wednesday Debrief | Friday Debrief |
1 | NONE | Politics, Aristotle 1/4 | The Federalist O) Elections, I) Clauses, H) Two Major Federal Limits |
2 | Tariffs & Revenue Laws, Walker (1845) | Politics, Aristotle 2/4 | The Federalist G) Dual Sovereignty |
3 | Party Platforms of 1860 | Politics, Aristotle 3/4 | Essays: Moral, Political, and Literary, Hume 1/4 |
4 | The Declining Prestige of the Presidential Office, Wilson (1885) | Politics, Aristotle 4/4 | Essays: Moral, Political, and Literary, Hume 2/4 |
5 | NONE | First Treatise on Government, Locke | Essays: Moral, Political, and Literary, Hume 3/4 |
6 | NONE | Second Treatise on Government, Locke | Essays: Moral, Political, and Literary, Hume 4/4 |
2023 Online Events
Possible Webinars: TBD
Each of these events will be recorded and uploaded to the TJEd Depth Index later on. These will be focused and optimized for live interaction, and not the recording; as such, breakout rooms and some other interactions may not be captured for the Archive.
An important aspect of our live events is that they are open to the public. You can invite your friends to get a taste of what a Depth Phase Leadership Education looks and feels like. With a single purchase ticket they will be able to try it out for themselves!
Enrolled students will have access to these events at no additional cost. The content of the events will harmonize with and build from course readings and discussions, but will be designed to be inclusive so that they are not prerequisite. These will be a lot of fun and packed with deep content. We will often utilize these times for engaging simulations as well!
Plan on 4 to 6 hours for these Depth Phase Events. The specific details, times, location, access, and expectations will be shared and posted as we get closer. They will be largely focused on current events and so the content will be created and prepared depending on the climate of the times.
Part 2
Field Experience & Simulations
Over the years of TJEd Depth we will guide you through implementing the principles we are studying, doing internships, and working on various projects that will help get you established on your chosen career path while being an involved citizen, family member, entrepreneur, intrepreneur, innovator, social leader, etc.
Outline for Field Experience Projects
Each project will span around four months, with dedicated live video calls and an online forum to discuss, coach, and debrief the project.
Some projects will be proposed and designed by the Depth student, while other projects will be proposed by the mentor based on their private studies, current events, and course readings.
Month 1
Live Session 1: Select & Collect
Select a project. Gain a vision of your project and its purpose.
The next four weeks will be focused on studying, researching and gathering information for your chosen project.
Start developing an understanding and competency in the chosen question and subject.
Month 2
Live Session 2: Organize & Analyze
Discuss the vision and purpose of your project. Dig into the details. Know your stuff!
The next four weeks will be focused on organizing your notes and sources as well as a deep analysis of what you have been studying and thinking about.
Start developing a level of expertise and mastery of the chosen question and subject.
Month 3
Live Session 3: Distill & Create
Discuss the vision and purpose of your project. Make your case persuasively, simply and effectively.
The next four weeks will be focused on creating something to be published. Seek to influence your audience for the better.
Start crafting your message for your audience around the chosen question and subject.
Month 4
Live Session 4: Finalize & Publish
Discuss the vision and purpose of your project. Do final drafts, reviews, and guidance for how to write and publish your message.
Each Depth Scholar will determine what they want to create.
Whether it’s a video, an article, a book, a story, a poem, a series of social media posts, a business, a program, a painting, a sales pitch, something for their job, an extra class they take or topic they study, etc., etc.
It should be personal, it should connect to your educational and mission goals. There is no “right” medium.
You may choose to do the same project multiple times. For example: each four-month cycle you might launch or publish segments of a larger project.
The aim here is to gain real world experience, know-how, and ability to learn with and for effective application. After a few years of going through this process, we hope to help lay a foundation for being a well-informed and effective Citizen, while gaining a level of expertise in your chosen career (whether as an entrepreneur or intrapreneur, etc.).
Calendar for Year 1 Projects
Year 1 Project 1
Date of First Live Call:
1/30/23
Year 1 Project 2
Date of First Live Call:
5/15/23
Year 1 Project 3
Date of First Live Call:
8/28/23
Outline for Simulations
Each year we will have a week-long Simulation planned well in advance. This Simulation experience is provided at no additional cost to enrolled Depth Phase students.
Single purchase ticket access will be available to non-enrolled members of the public as well.
Calendar for Year 1 Simulations
🗓
Week Long Simulation
10/9/23
Other non-public Simulations we undertake will arise organically, responsive to the needs of the course cohort and the vision of the mentors as we read and discuss. They may be included in the live discussion calls and seminar events. From time to time they will also be scheduled and planned events announced to the course cohort via Forum and email.
Live Online Simulations
Live Online Seminars
Live Cohorts for Field Experience Projects
Outline for Simulations
Each year we will have a week-long Simulation planned well in advance. This Simulation experience is provided at no additional cost to enrolled Depth Phase students.
Single purchase ticket access will be available to non-enrolled members of the public as well.
Calendar for Year 1 Simulations
🗓
Week Long Simulation
10/9/23
Other non-public Simulations we undertake will arise organically, responsive to the needs of the course cohort and the vision of the mentors as we read and discuss. They may be included in the live discussion calls and seminar events. From time to time they will also be scheduled and planned events announced to the course cohort via Forum and email.
Live Online Simulations
Live Online Seminars
Live Cohorts for Field Experience Projects
Part 3
Expanded Depth Studies
With each passing semester, completed courses will be added to the TJEd Depth Archive. Access to this Archive is included in your subscription to TJEd Depth.
You will also be directed to resources, programs, and opportunities to fill in other areas of learning and training for your career.
We will leverage courses from Black Belt in Freedom, Mentoring in the Classics, Udemy, Coursera, The Great Courses, EdX, Khan Academy, Master Class, Brilliant and others to fill in gaps and gain needed skills for your mission.
This portion is self-paced and self-determined with input from mentors as needed.
If freedom is a significant part of your mission and/or passion, we highly recommend that you include the Black Belt in Freedom series as part of your Expanded Depth Phase studies.
Some of the overarching subjects we recommend gaining proficiency in are:
- Mathematics
- English & Grammar
- Geography
- Introduction to Law
- Introduction to Coding
- History
- Among Others
What's Included in TJEd Depth?
Live Cohort Courses
Powerful Discussion Forum
Live Online Video Calls
Live Online Simulations
Live Online Seminars
Live Cohorts for Field Experience Projects
Community of Peers, Leaders, and Mentors
Index of Previous Courses and Other Mini-Courses
Recommendations and Guidance for additional Depth Phase Studies
& Ongoing Current Events & Trends Updates
Advanced Participants
will also have access to:
Dedicated Discussion Forum with Oliver DeMille
Video Discussions Every First Thursday Morning
Periodic one-on-one mentor meetings with Ian as needed
Advanced Online Simulations and Leadership Role Opportunities
Personal access to the Black Belt in Freedom mentoring series
Household access to the Mentoring in the Classics series
All Future TJEd Publications
All New TJEd Online Conventions
All New TJEd Online Freedom Conventions
An Education to Match Your Mission
And An Education for Such a Time
The best things that really produce a Leadership Education—an education for the future of faith, freedom, family and prosperity —are classics, discussion, writing, innovation and application.
The most effective way through these is with a mentoring guide and an inspiring community around you.
Save a Free Seat for a Webinar with Ian on the basics of Depth Phase, an introduction to the TJEd Depth mentoring program, and Q&A Session
Mentoring Tuition
TJEd Depth Mentoring
$97 /month
- Live Cohort Course
(the course currently being recorded and focused on in the discussions) - Discussion Forum
- Periodic Video Discussions/Seminars (large groups, maybe break out into smaller groups for peer discussion)
- Ongoing Current Events & Trends Updates
- Field Experience Cohorts (every 3 months a new project)
- Online Events
- Online Simulations
TJEd Depth
Advanced Mentoring
$500 /month
Everything in the Base Mentoring, plus...
- Dedicated Discussion Forum with Oliver DeMille
- Video Discussions Every First Thursday Morning
- Periodic one-on-one mentor meetings with Ian as needed
- Advanced Online Simulations
and Leadership Role Opportunities - Personal access to the Black Belt in Freedom mentoring series
- Household access to the Mentoring in the Classics series
- All Future TJEd Publications
- All New TJEd Online Conventions
- All New TJEd Online Freedom Conventions
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How does the enrollment work? Is it by the semester or an ongoing subscription?
A: This is designed as a mentoring service on a monthly subscription model, with access to resources and a community experience.
Q: What is the Field Experience project schedule? And how do I participate?
A: Details will be published in the course “TJEd Depth Field Experience”.
Because this is an optional component, you will be given the opportunity to participate and/or receive notifications for projects when you enroll. Details will be posted in the forum and emailed out to those who requested updates.
You will need to fill out a form in the course to reserve a free seat for the video call.
Q: What is the Simulation schedule? And how do I participate?
A: Details will be published in the course “TJEd Depth Simulations”.
Because this is an optional component, you will be given the opportunity to participate and/or receive notifications for projects when you enroll. Details will be posted in the forum and emailed out to those who requested updates.
You will need to fill out a form in the course to reserve a free seat for the video call.
Q: How do the live video discussions work?
A: This will vary from month to month as it will depend on the mentor’s schedule.
Details will be posted in the forum and emailed out to those who requested updates.
You will need to fill out the form in the course to reserve a free seat for the video call.
Q: Is there a certificate or graduation once I’m done with TJEd Depth?
A: Simply put, no. TJEd Depth does not offer or aspire to follow any credentialing or certification guidelines. We plan to continue developing new syllabi, simulations, and projects that are current, relevant and useful as times change, with ongoing mentoring and education to match the needs of these times and our respective missions.
Q: Can I do TJEd Depth Concurrently with other programs and/or college?
A: Yes! The TJEd process has always supported an eclectic approach. Find the right resources, mentors, and experiences that you need for your education and your mission and then do it. We understand the need to personalize, which is why there are different levels of engagement for different students. This is a great mentoring program for students enrolled in college, wherever it is.
For more details on what this looks like for concurrent enrollment click here.
Save a Free Seat for a Webinar with Ian on the basics of Depth Phase, an introduction to the TJEd Depth mentoring program, and Q&A Session
If you are hungry and eager to get to work but finances are holding you back, click here for options.
If you want to help support those in financial need, please click here to sponsor student scholarships.
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