Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia is a classical Christian college with nearly 400 students, located 40 miles from Washington, D.C.  Founded in 2000, PHC offers major tracks in Classical Liberal Arts, History, Literature, American Politics, International Politics, Political Theory, Strategic Intelligence, and Journalism.  With a comprehensive, 63-credit common core curriculum PHC rigorously grounds students in the great books of Western Civilization, history, philosophy, logic, and the foundations of freedom.  Its motto, “Pro Christo et Libertate” (For Christ and For Liberty), embodies its mission. College President Graham Walker describes the College’s aim as “fearless learning in the spirit of the American Founding.”

As he explains, the curriculum “starts with Jesus Christ, in whom ‘all things hold together’ (Colossians 1:17).  The faculty insist on accountability to facts, defending reason because of faith.  Every student gets a foundation in classical learning and grapples with the full range of ideas, both good and bad, that have dominated our civilization.  We equip students to ‘test all things’ and ‘hold fast that which is good’ (1 Thessalonians 5:21).” Distinguished faculty members lead this effort.  The College’s Chancellor, Dr. Michael Farris, has authored 14 books including two constitutional law textbooks, and has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.  He was awarded the Heritage Foundation’s Salvatori Award for American Citizenship.  The College’s Provost, Dr. Gene Edward Veith, is a longtime educator, cultural commentator, and author of over 100 published articles and 17 books on subjects ranging from classical Christian education and postmodernism to literature and vocation.  Other noted faculty scholars include well-known journalist Dr. David Aikman, and author and apologetics expert Dr. John Warwick Montgomery. Apprenticeship learning is the culminating step of a classical education at Patrick Henry College.  This requires students to gain practical experience and conduct research through top-level internships in Washington, D.C. and beyond.

Complementing its mission to engage culture, the forensics program at PHC has earned a national reputation as a legal debate force, winning national championships four of the past six years and sending members on to the nation’s top law and graduate schools, including Harvard, Duke, Georgetown and the University of Virginia. Patrick Henry College’s unique strategic intelligence concentration in the Department of Government immerses students in intelligence analysis, investigative techniques, open source data exploitation, counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism, and information dissemination.  Strategic intelligence students at PHC participate in prestigious apprenticeships with the FBI, the CIA, and in local police departments.