We’re a unique community for the intellectual and spiritual formation of graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Combining the thoughtful depth of a university course with the active pursuit of spiritual growth, Upper House Fellows provides a place to ask deeper questions about faith, purpose, and what it looks like to follow Jesus in a complex, pluralistic world.

As we build an authentic community of students and mentors from different Christian traditions, cultural backgrounds, and fields of study, we draw on Scripture and a range of voices to explore how the gospel sheds light on our identity as humans and shapes our lives and callings.

Fellows meet every other Monday throughout the academic year. We begin with a shared meal and then split into separate tracks for learning and discussion, followed by dessert for those who want to continue the conversation. We also host occasional retreats, social events, summer Bible studies, and more.

Whatever your background or questions, you are welcome here. We invite you to join us!

From Genesis to Revelation, the Christian Bible offers a grand drama—a story about God, humans, and the world. The scriptures were composed over many centuries by a host of authors who wrote in a range of genres to address a variety of ancient communities. Yet within these gloriously diverse writings that make up the biblical canon there lies an overarching narrative. It’s an epic tale about God’s mission to restore the world from brokenness, chaos, and death, and to bring wholeness, justice, and peace to humans and all of creation.

Reading the Bible as a narrative changes the way we understand both its individual parts and its overall message. In this track we’ll learn how to read the Bible so that we can see this fascinating story, and we’ll ask what it has to say to us today.

What does it look like to live the good life? How can we discern and live out our callings right now? In this track we will explore questions of Christian identity, vocation, and work. We’ll consider what it means to be bearers of the divine image and how our primary calling to follow Jesus gives our lives direction and purpose.

From there we’ll ask what this means for our work, career aspirations, and major life decisions. How should our passions and abilities, our communities and constraints, our opportunities and the world’s needs shape our choices? And how might living in light of God’s renewing work guide and energize our pursuits?
 
Our meetings will include short teaching times, discussion of common readings, and occasional conversations with guest speakers. During the spring semester, you will also complete a project applying what we are learning to your own field of study or vocational direction. Each track member brings unique experiences, perspectives, and questions to the group, and we anticipate learning much from each other as we explore how our callings shape a life well lived. 

Many of us feel that our devotional lives run shallow. But what if your faith had the same intellectual depth as your academic studies? The Spiritual Formation track is an invitation to move beyond basic routines and explore the wisdom of the Christian tradition.
  
This year-long cohort is designed for students seeking to integrate ancient spiritual disciplines—like contemplative prayer, fasting, and liturgical worship—into our demanding schedules. Together we will adopt a “Common Rule,” a shared rhythm of life, as we dive into the why behind our practices: from the nature of grace to the authority of Scripture and more. 
  
In a campus culture focused on performance and achievements, this track offers a restorative alternative, inviting us to ground our ambitions in Christ rather than in our accomplishments. If you are looking for a community seeking a more integrated life of faith, apply to join us.
  

Christians are called to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. But what does this actually mean? In the university, we tend to place great emphasis on the intellect—on what we know and what we hold to be true. Yet it can be easy to neglect the role of faith in our intellectual formation, and likewise the role of the mind in our spiritual formation. 
 
Our life before God can be a fully integrated one—heart, soul, body, and mind. This track invites you to pursue that kind of wholeness. In the fall semester, we will explore what scripture teaches about the mind and why it matters for the Christian life. In the spring semester, we will consider practices of thinking that can help integrate faith with our study, academic disciplines, work, and vocation. Join us as we seek together to have the “mind of Christ” and to live as his faithful disciples.

NOTE: This track is open to graduate students and to upper-level undergraduates. 

What makes us human? How is our spiritual formation shaped by technology? In what ways might science become a Christian practice? These questions are increasingly important as technology and the sciences become woven into nearly every aspect of our lives—from daily habits to academic work to the ways we form and sustain relationships.
 
This track explores how technological developments and insights from the natural and applied sciences shape our understanding of what it means to be human and how Christians might respond thoughtfully and faithfully. While we will not ignore the challenges raised by certain technological trends, our primary focus is on the possibilities: how scientific discovery and innovation can deepen curiosity, inspire wonder, and enrich Christian reflection and practice. 
 
Together we will consider how these questions intersect with ethics, Christian responsibility, and spiritual formation, drawing on the insights of guest scholars from UW–Madison and the broader Christian community in fields such as engineering, medicine, and environmental science.