Peterson Academy

Background

Peterson Academy is a non-accredit ed¹ “online universal education platform” created by controversial² Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson and his daughter, Mikhaila Fuller (formerly Peterson) originally set to launch in November 2023.³

In an October 2023 article, the Financial Time s summarized Peterson Academy CEO Mikhaila Fuller’s description of the platform:⁴

“[P]rofessors deliver eight, hour-long lectures on subjects they are passionate about. These will be available to stream for $40 a month, similar to what’s offered by the likes of MasterClass and BBC Maestro. Some professors have already filmed courses: James Orr on Plato; Oxford theologian Nigel Biggar on colonialism; as well as Peterson,” Financial Times wrote, describing the academy as a “for-profit enterprise” where “professors will be paid an initial fee, plus a share of revenue, depending on how many students they attract.”

Fuller claimed approximately $3 million in seed money came from her and her father. “Students who want a Peterson Academy ‘general education degree’ — unaccredited — will have to watch 90 eight-hour-long courses,” Financial Times added.

Jordan Peterson, promoting the Academy in online videos, has said the reason to get a degree is “because otherwise you’re going to be a useless, resentful, bitter, pointless, counterproductive lump.”

According to an archived page on its yet-to-be-launched website:⁵

“Peterson Academy is an online universal education platform devoid of ideology. It hosts the world’s best lecturers, incorporates social interaction, and provides testing.

“Peterson Academy is drastically reducing the cost of a bachelor’s degree and focuses on teaching students how to think, not what to think.”

In February 2023, Peterson discussed the Academy on The Joe Rogan Experience, where he also suggested he was working with the “skeptical environmentalist” Bjorn Lomborg.⁶

Peterson had discussed the idea of an academy at least as early as 2017 on CTV Your Morning.”⁷

Accreditation

As mentioned in an October 31, 2023, announcement by Campus Reform, a project of the Koch-funded Leadership Institut e, Peterson had said in an interview that his school was pursuing accreditation:⁸

“A degree from our university will signify high level conscientiousness and general cognitive ability,” Peterson said. “I think we can just skip the accreditation process and go right to the employers.”

However, in a December 2 023 interview with The Telegraph, Peterson said he was not worried about pursuing accreditation:⁹

“The accreditation is only important for two reasons,” Peterson said. “One is it’s a path to graduate school and that’s going to be a problem for us. But the other pathway is to employment. And all sorts of corporations are already stating publicly that they no longer regard a university degree as a stamp of accreditation. So why the hell would I pursue that?”

Stance on Climate Change

Peterson Academy does not appear to have published its stance on climate change. However, Peterson has said he is working with Bjorn Lomborg, who has consistently downplayed the dangers of man-made climate change.

Stance on Covid

October 2, 2022

Peterson Academy posted on X, suggesting Harvard University’s requirement that students have a Covid-19 vaccination as “Reason #2 to go to Peterson Academy”:¹⁰

“Students who are not up-to-date on their COVID vaccine, or other required vaccinations, will have a hold placed on their enrollment.”

Reason #2 to go to Peterson Academy. https://t.co/LuWAgraLp4.
— Peterson Academy (@petersonacademy) October 2, 2022

Funding

In an interview with Financial Times, Mikhaila Fuller claimed the Academy would be started with roughly $3 million in seed funding from her and her father, Jordan Peterson.

She described the Academy as a for-profit enterprise where lectures would be available to stream for $40 per month.

Peterson has also declared that a goal of the Academy was to “drive the cost of a Bachelor’s Degree down to $4,000.”¹¹

Key People

The following list is based on available internet archives of pages that have appeared on the Peterson Academy website.

Note that these individuals have not been confirmed to be final professors chosen at Peterson Academy, however are listed as either being employed by the Academy, or in a film screening for materials for the Academy.

Possible Instructors

Rex Murphy

According to an archived audience application form, “Political Commentator and host of RexTV, Rex Murphy will be teaching a course on poetry and Paradise Lost.”¹²

Max Lugavere

According to an archived audience application form, “Author of The New York Times bestseller Genius Foods and The Wall Street Journal bestseller Genius Kitchen, nutrition expert Max Lugavere will be teaching a course on practical lifestyle and nutrition habits for optimizing health and performance.”¹³

Eric Kaufmann

According to an archived audience application form, “Eric Kaufmann, political commentator and politics professor, will be teaching a course on the inner workings and practical implications of the world’s most influential political ideologies.”¹⁴

Baland Jalal

According to Jalal’s website, “He was recently recruited as a lecturer at Peterson Academy (founded by the famed Dr. Jordan B Peterson and his daughter Mikhaela [sic]).”¹⁵

Gregg Hurwitz & Andy Martin

According to an archived audience application form, “Bestselling author of 23 thrillers, screenwriter, and comic book writer, Gregg Hurwitz will be joined by renowned novelist Andy Martin to teach an audience engaging course on creative writing,” adding, “Must be a hardcore writer or pursuing a writing career.”¹⁶

Stephen Hicks

According to an archived audience application form, “Stephen Hicks, renowned philosopher and professor at Rockford University, will be teaching two courses in Miami, Florida.

Course 1: Modern Philosophy
Oct 1–3 | 9am–3pm EST

Course 2: Postmodern Philosophy
Oct 6–8 | 9am–1pm EST”¹⁷

Rob Henderson

According to an archived audience application form, “Pioneer of the term ‘luxury beliefs,’ renowned public intellectual, writer, and psychologist Rob Henderson will be teaching a course on the Psychology of Social Status.”¹⁸

Richard Hanania

According to an archived audience application form, “Richard Hanania, political researcher and President of the Center for the Study of Partisanship, will be teaching a course on the fundamentals of political science.”¹⁹

Warren Farrell

According to an archived audience application form, “Author of the acclaimed book The Boy Crisis, renowned researcher and public speaker Dr. Warren Farrell will be teaching a course on the sobering state of boys in modern society and what we can do about it.”²⁰

Ben Bikman

According to an archived audience application form, “Professor of pathophysiology and award winning biomedical scientist Dr. Ben Bikman will be teaching a course on Insulin Resistance – a major cause behind obesity and chronic disease – and implementable solutions.”²¹

James Orr

According to an archived audience application form, “Dr. James Orr is Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. He will be teaching a course on Philosophy.”²²

Jonathan Pageau

According to an archived audience application form, “Professional icon carver and liturgical artist Jonathan Pageau will be teaching a theology course on traditional symbolism and orthodox Christian thought. His art has been commissioned by clergy and individuals from around the world, as well as published and shown in museums. He is also a public speaker on traditional symbolism and contemporary re-enchantment.”²³

Robert Pihl — abnormal psychology

According to an archived audience application form, “Esteemed psychology professor and researcher Dr. Robert Pihl will be teaching a course on abnormal psychology. Dr. Pihl is recognized as a leader in his field, having authored or co-authored more than 250 academic research papers and received multiple awards including the 2009 Canadian Psychological Association’s Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contributions to Canadian Psychology and the National Patient Safety Award from the Drug Safety Institute in 2013.”²⁴

Marian Tupy and Gale Pooley

According to an archived audience application form, “Authors of the acclaimed book Superabundance, Marian Tupy of the Cato Institute and Gale Pooley of the Discovery Institute will be teaching a course on population growth, innovation, and human flourishing.” (DeSmog links added).²⁵

Brett Weinstein and Heather Heying — Adaptive Evolution

According to an archived audience application form, “Evolutionary biologists and best-selling authors of ‘A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century: Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life’ Dr. Bret Weinstein and Dr. Heather Heying will be teaching a crash course on Adaptive Evolution.”²⁶

Nigel Biggar

According to an archived feedback form, Nigel Biggar hosted a lecture from January 6 to 8, 2023. The form does not provide details of the event.²⁷

John Vervaeke

According to an archived feedback form, John Vervaeke hosted a lecture from January 3 to 5, 2023. The form does not provide details of the event.²⁸

Brian Keating

According to an archived audience application form, “Renowned astrophysicist and science communicator, Professor Brian Keating, will be teaching a course on cosmology, exploring the secrets of the universe and the wonders that lie within it.”²⁹

W. Keith Campbell

According to an archived audience application form, “Renowned psychologist and University of Georgia professor, W. Keith Campbell, will be teaching a course on narcissism, delving into the enigmatic world of narcissistic personalities and their outcomes.”³⁰

Michael Shermer

According to an archived audience application form, “Michael Shermer, renowned author and editor-in-chief of Skeptic Magazine, will be teaching a course on critical thinking and scientific reasoning, explaining strategies for uncovering truth.”³¹

Michael Malice

According to an archived audience application form, “Michael Malice, political commentator and host of the YOUR WELCOME podcast, will be teaching a course on the tumultuous history, inner workings, and historical lessons of the Soviet Union.”³²

Other People Listed

The following names appeared on the website without further explanation.

Actions

September 27, 2023

Peterson and his daughter Mikhaila discussed the upcoming la unch of Peterson Academy on Mikhaila’s podcast.³⁵

July 18, 2017

Peterson discussed the id ea of an online university on CTV Your Morning.³⁶

“I want to move genuine humanities education out of the universities, where it isn’t being taught anyways as far as I can tell, online where people can access it freely,” Peterson claimed.

In terms of costs to students, Peterson said, “We’re not sure exactly how it would run. But one possibility would be a monthly subscription that would help pay for the content. But the primary source of revenue would be on the accreditation end, on the examination end for sure.”

When asked about content, Peterson said:³⁷

“[W]e would probably start with a list of the 100 greatest books of Western civilization. I think we’d started as a great books program, and we’re thinking about making a timeline. Imagine a timeline that stretches, say, from 3000 B.C. up to the present time that you could zoom in on and imagine lectures that would be available at different levels of resolution.

“So, for example, you might have a lecture about the 2000 to 1000 B.C. and the major occurrences during that period that you could zoom in and get specialty lectures where the historical knowledge was detailed enough to provide information at that level of resolution.

“And then the content, I don’t know yet. I think getting the underlying technical structure right at the moment is more important than the content, because I think content would generate itself if the incentive systems were set up properly.”

Asked why his online university would work more effectively than traditional ones, Peterson claimed that “the traditional universities have abandoned the humanities. They’ve become almost entirely corrupt as far as I can tell.”³⁸

“The humanities have been dominated by a kind of post-modern neo Marxist, what would you call it? Cult ideology since the 1990s, probably starting in the 1960s. And so they’ve abandoned their mission to students,” he said, adding “I think it’s a scam, pretty much from top to bottom, and it’s a very expensive scam.”

Peterson said it would start with a website in the next month and a half that would “help students and their parents identify postmodern content in courses so that they can avoid them.” He said, “our plan initially is to cut off the supply to the people who are running the indoctrination cults.”³⁹

Luminate Enterprises Ltd., where Mikhaila Peterson is CEO, describes itse lf as “the parent company of 6 subsidiary companies that handle brand management, touring, publishing, media, app development, psychological tools, live events, company relationships, and podcasting.”⁴⁰

Peterson Academy is listed on its website, while Luminate Enterprises Ltd. is also named in the Peterson Academy website’s privacy policy.⁴¹

According to a search of Ontario business registrations, “Amalgamating corporations” listed under Luminate Enterprises LTD with Ontario Corporation Number (OCN) 1000277879 included:⁴²