The first COMPASS Workshop took place at Princeton in 2016. Fifteen undergraduates were invited (out of a group of applicants who identified as either women or gender minorities) from a variety of campuses near Princeton for a weekend of philosophical discussion and mentoring sessions. The workshop was structured as a kind of extended reading group. In advance of the workshop, the participants read six philosophy papers from a variety of sub-disciplines. Over the course of the weekend, the invitees and graduate students discussed each of these papers in six different discussion sessions. The discussions were largely undergraduate-led, with facilitation by graduate students. In addition, there were two advice sessions with faculty members from nearby departments.
The idea for COMPASS grew out of a regular reading group organized by female graduate students at Princeton for female undergraduates interested in pursuing philosophy. Both the reading group and the COMPASS Workshop were initiatives of the Princeton chapter of MAP (Minorities and Philosophy). The name “Compass” is a pun on MAP: the workshop is intended to help undergraduates “find their way” in the discipline. One of the chief inspirations for COMPASS has been the Networking and Mentoring Workshop for Graduate Student Women in Philosophy.