Mpilo Norris
College: Yale University
High School: Choate Rosemary Hall, United States
Pioneer Research Paper: Comparative Inquiry Into Western Liberal Democratic Values
“Doing the research would train me to have an objective perspective on what’s going on, and not base my opinion just on sound bytes that I hear from other sources. Pioneer doesn’t just give me questions to answer. Instead, Pioneer teaches me how to make my own questions.”
Pioneer is the world’s only online research program with US college credit granted by a top 30 college
Pioneer and Oberlin College collaborate in the following areas to ensure the rigor of the academic operations.
Academic quality control
Pioneer collaborates with an Oberlin committee to conduct academic quality control. Pioneer insists on rigorous policies and procedures that include:
Anthropology
Architecture
Art History
Astronomy
Biology
Business
Chemistry
Comp. Sci.
Culture Studies
Ecology
Economics
Education
Engineering
Envir. Studies
Film Studies
History
Int’l Relations
Literature
Mathematics
Media Studies
Music/Music Theory
Neuroscience
Philosophy
Physics
Political Science
Psychology
STS (Science,
Technology and
Society)
Sociology
A few examples of past Pioneer research topics
– The Socioemotional Brain and Decision Making (Neurosci.)
– Cells and Intracellular Machines (Biology)
– Environmental Neurotoxicology (Bio-chemistry)
– Gravitational Waves and LIGO (Physics)
– Combinatorics and Graph Theory (Mathematics)
– European Integration in Comparative Perspective
(International Relations)
– African American Literature (Literature)
– The Political Economy of International Development (Econ.)
– Film Noir and its Contexts (Film Studies)
– Great Scientific Controversies in Context (Science, Technology
& Society)
Pioneer focuses on student interest, not on college brand names
One of Pioneer’s strict policies is that professors shall NOT be disclosed to applying students.
Only the Pioneer’s admissions and academics department knows the mentoring professors before applicants are granted conditional admission.
After students receive an offer of conditional admission, selected students and their matched faculty can accept or reject the proposed match.
Pioneer has insisted on our No conflict of interests principle since day one
Academics only: No involvement in consulting or test prep is allowed
Admission & Academic independence: Admissions and academic departments and decisions are independent. (Outreach team and admissions are completely separated)
Independent grading: Pioneer is not get involved in students’ grades
Because of its unique academic system, exemplary standards, and proven integrity, Pioneer’s credibility is respected by selective universities and colleges.
