The philosophy of education that informs European-American University is not new; indeed it is older than that of many more traditional universities. As an institutional philosophy, we conceive the University as a frame of reference for the learning undertaken by the student, rather than a coercive force seeking to control that learning. European-American University understands that lasting change in any area - most notably in the transformative process of genuine education - cannot come about through coercion. This is why it offers the learner freedom in its place.

The Tao Te Ching tells us that education comes not from the accumulation of knowledge but from the abandonment of belief. Similarly, Socrates tells us that education is the "drawing forth of that which is already known but has been forgotten". Through placing faith in the individual, European-American University acts to facilitate his or her potential rather than forcing the square peg into the round hole. Through allowing the insights of different disciplines to bear upon and compliment each other rather than being artificially divided, European-American University honors the diversity and flow of human life in all its variety. The result is a sustainable vision of education designed to assist world citizens in the betterment of the human condition.

There are many links throughout this website to sources in support of the EAU philosophy.

Alfred North Whitehead, who would surely recognise the learning processes European-American University endorses, said in his "The Aims of Education",


In the UK, the National Council for Vocational Qualifications in England has said (UPDATE, No. 1, 1989),


We could also quote the words of Ewald B. Nyquist, president of the University of the State of New York, over thirty years ago. His message rings just as true today,


The heart of European-American University is in dynamic education offering unique routes to a degree for mature individuals with previous professional experience in their fields. Anchored in the non-traditional movement that has its roots in the United States, as well as more recent developments in European education, the University honors the independent lifelong learner through its combination of a distance learning and community-based graduate school with traditional but flexible on-campus instruction. While the campus-based programs do include some degrees that are suitable for recent school-leavers, most of our programs described on this website are intended for working or retired adults with at least three years of professional experience and in some cases many more.

Our methods mean that you have more control over the design and content of your degree than at almost any other institution. You can shorten the time needed to earn your degree because of the intensiveness and efficiency of our fast-track programs. We operate a never-ending academic year in which you can enrol and begin your program at any time.

There are no age limits at European-American University and we are happy to accept those who are returning to education after some years away. Because we are not a traditional university we are better equipped to deal with professionals whose expectations are of an efficient and person-centered atmosphere. There is no unnecessary bureaucracy and no barriers to recognising the learning you have undertaken.

This approach is suitable for the motivated individual who is prepared and willing to take charge of their education and be active rather than passive in that pursuit. In the process of earning their degree, they will learn not only about their chosen area, but about themselves and how they learn most effectively. This process will empower them at a fundamental level and ready them for service as dynamic change agents within their communities.

Maria Montessori discovered this when she wrote:

"...and if education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of a person's future... and so we discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being."