What We Do

The Swarthmore Effective Altruism Society is a part of the larger effective altruism movement, which aims to combine reason and empathy to benefit the world as much as possible. You can learn more about the basics of effective altruism here. 

Swarthmore students are uniquely well-placed to act on our good intentions, and Swarthmore Effective Altruism aims to build opportunities for Swarthmore students to learn about the world’s most pressing problems and think rigorously and systematically about how we can use our careers to solve them. We hope to foster a friendly and welcoming community of people who are passionate about making the world a better place.

Our flagship project is the Introductory Fellowship, a semester-long program in which Swarthmore students will read and discuss foundational and contemporary texts relevant to effective altruism. Applications for the fall 2021 Introductory Fellowship will go live in September.

Swarthmore Effective Altruism also holds regular social events, guest speakers, debates, and career workshops. We are strongly considering hosting a multiweek career planning intensive or in-depth fellowship in the spring of 2021. Stay in the loop by signing up for our mailing list below!

We’re a new organization, and we’d love to welcome new voices to our community and get feedback about how we can operate most effectively. Get in touch with us here!