Illustration by Malika Singh
Changes to Credit and J-Term Policies
What are the new changes to the credits required for graduation and J-Term Policies, and why were they made in the first place?
Sep 22, 2024
Credits
On Aug. 27, the Office of Undergraduate Education sent an email to the students of NYU Abu Dhabi concerning the changes to the Undergraduate Degree Requirements. These changes included the reduction of the amount of credits required for undergraduates for the Bachelor’s degree and a shift in the January Term and Core Colloquium Requirements.
Regarding the required credits for graduation, the amount was reduced from 140 credits to 128 with the intention of matching the policies of NYU New York, NYU Shanghai, and other U.S. and UAE universities.
January Term
The faculty members of the Academic Resource Center team explain that students who have already completed one J-Term, whether it was in Abu Dhabi or abroad, can either choose to remain in the old core system or opt into the new system.
Returning students who already completed a J-term in Abu Dhabi have two options: to take one of the fully abroad offered courses or take a “sandwich” course, officially termed as a Regional Academic Seminar, half of which is taught in Abu Dhabi and the other half abroad. For those who have not yet taken a term in Abu Dhabi, they must complete one.
Additionally, J-terms are now worth 3 credits and shorter in length.
Nevertheless, the option of the Regional Academic Seminar only applies to returning students, and is only available in 2025 for those who haven’t taken one.
The minimum amount of J-Terms required for returning students and incoming students have been reduced to two, and the maximum allowed remains as three for returning students, while incoming students are only allowed two.
In order to register, students will now have to access NYU Albert to apply to their chosen course.
Lastly, the option to take a June Term will be canceled after 2025. Fortunately, both returning and new students are still eligible to take a J-Term course in June of the incoming year.
For more information, students can reach members of the Academic Resource Center, the student Global Education Officers and access the Frequently Asked Questions through the [NYUAD Student Portal] (https://students.nyuad.nyu.edu/academics/global-education/january-term/j-term-2025-faqs/).
As previously mentioned, part of the reason behind the new changes in the minimum number of graduation credits required is the importance of alignment of the NYUAD bachelor’s degree system to NYUNY’s system, as well as many of the U.S. and UAE universities. The 3-credit J-Terms also stem from this alignment.
Isabella Hernandez is Deputy News Editor. Email them at feedback@thegazelle.org
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