The Indiana Academy is a tuition free public high school for approximately 300 gifted and talented juniors and seniors from across Indiana.

The Philosophy

The Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities is operated by Ball State University as a school devoted to the education of students who demonstrate extraordinary intellectual ability and a commitment to scholarship. The philosophy of the Indiana Academy originates from the proposition that a society in which justice is a prime concern ordinarily tries to provide educational opportunities appropriate to the expressed ability and potential development of as many sorts of citizens as possible.

To the extent that a society entitles persons with this right, it justly expects that they will subsequently function as good citizens, discharging their public as well as private responsibilities with distinction. As a consequence of its enabling legislation and basic philosophy, the Indiana Academy is dedicated to inspiring and challenging highly gifted young adults to reach their full personal potential within the framework of the common good.

The Purpose

The Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities has two purposes which are central to its institutional mission. First, the academy provides a physical, intellectual, and social environment in which students with exceptional academic ability can thrive in an appropriately exceptional learning community.

Second, the Academy serves Indiana as a state-wide center for gifted education so that pupils all across the state can have access to the programs and resources appropriate to their abilities. Through the latest advances in interactive telecommunications technology, the development and dissemination of innovative curricula, applied research in gifted education, and in-service education of teachers, the Indiana Academy strives to stimulate vitality in educational programs for academically gifted secondary pupils and their teachers.

The Curriculum

The curriculum of the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities is designed to enable its students to understand the past, investigate the present, and plan the future. Traditional liberal arts and sciences are emphasized in required course work, and individual inquiry and discovery are stressed through elective studies, independent study, and research and practical experience. The resulting harmony of rigor, challenge, and inspiration in the study of our scientific and cultural heritage, combined with the freedom to explore new horizons of knowledge, produces an intellectual environment in which Indiana Academy students learn to think creatively, communicate clearly, and act responsibly in an increasingly complex global society.

The methods and materials for instruction are selected for the promise they show in both exciting the imagination and disciplining the mind. Tradition is blended with innovation. Lectures and discussions in both advanced level Indiana Academy courses and university level courses are combined with seminars, colloquia, independent study and research, and apprenticeships with researchers and practitioners in various professions.

Founded in 1988 by the Indiana General Assembly, the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities has two purposes that are central to its mission. First, the Indiana Academy serves as a residential high school for approximately 300 gifted and talented juniors and seniors from across the state of Indiana. Second, through various Outreach programs, the Indiana Academy strives to stimulate and enable vitality in educational programs for academically gifted students and teachers.

The Indiana Academy is located on the Ball State University campus and is accredited by the Indiana Department of Education and by the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges through the University Schools. It is a member of the National Association of College Admission Counseling and complies with the NACAC "Statement of Principles of Good Practice."

The Indiana Academy has been nationally recognized as a premier educational institution for gifted and talented students.