What is the Telluride House?

Telluride House is a merit-based residential scholarship committed to establishing a vibrant community supporting our three pillars: democratic ideals of self-governance, a stimulating intellectual environment, and a commitment to public service.

Housemembers (all on room and board scholarship at the House) range from undergraduate freshmen to Ph.D students, and are joined in residence by faculty fellows from several fields. By living with a commitment to our self-governing community, Telluride House strives to foster the moral and intellectual growth of its members.

Past recipients of the Telluride scholarship include notable figures from a wide range of disciplines including: World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, U.S. Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, philosophers Michel Foucault and Francis Fukuyama, postmodern scholar Gayatri Spivak, and several Nobel prize winners including Steven Weinberg, Linus Pauling, and Richard Feynman.

The scholarship is open to all incoming and current University of Michigan students.

To learn more about the terms of scholarship, please click here.

About the Telluride House

Why should colleges concentrate almost exclusively on intellectual development? What about character? Responsibility? Physical and spiritual growth?
— L.L. Nunn, founder of Telluride Association

A Brief History

Telluride House is one of two residential communities established by the Telluride Association, a non-profit association founded in 1911 for the purpose of creating and fostering educational communities that rely upon democratic participation. The association aims to develop students' potential for leadership and public service by providing a rich and intense academic experience and opportunities beyond those of a standard university education.

The first Telluride House at Cornell University was built in 1910. Telluride House at the University of Michigan was established in 2000.

Learn more about the Telluride Association here.