On March 28, an email was sent by the NYU Abu Dhabi Core Curriculum Committee to the entire NYUAD student body explaining the components of the new Core curriculum and outlining the transition from the present curriculum. Here, The Gazelle highlights what the changes in the curriculum entail for students in the classes of 2017-19.
Breaking: The New Core, What it Means
On March 28, an email was sent by the NYU Abu Dhabi Core Curriculum Committee to the entire NYUAD student body explaining the components of the new ...
Mar 28, 2016
On March 28, an email was sent by the NYU Abu Dhabi Core Curriculum Committee to the entire NYUAD student body explaining the components of the new Core curriculum and outlining the transition from the present curriculum. Here, The Gazelle highlights what the changes in the curriculum entail for students in the classes of 2017-19.
The new Core curriculum shows three significant changes with regards to the proposal that was circulated among students and faculty on Nov. 12, 2015 and endorsed on Nov. 22, 2015.
The first is a change in the character of the two required Core colloquia. Earlier proposals described these as “organized around profound and enduring questions about the human condition, society and the natural world.” Under the new Core curriculum, the emphasis is placed on the “understanding of significant global challenges.” Despite the new emphasis, the colloquia continue to be explicitly multidisciplinary in their approach.
The second difference is that the four compulsory breadth requirements were replaced with four Core competency courses. In the proposals, the breadth requirements spanned four areas: Art, Design and Invention; Data and Discovery; Cultural Analysis; Structures of Thought and Society. These categories are slightly different under the new Core competency courses: Arts, Design and Technology; Data and Discovery; Cultural Exploration and Analysis; Structures of Thought and Society. Students will also be expected to complete one courses fulfilling a Quantitative Reasoning, Experimental Inquiry and Islamic Studies requirement. These last three courses can be taken both in and out of the Core, which means students can fulfill the requirements while taking courses within their majors or through general electives.
The third change is that courses that count toward a student's major cannot be counted as also fulfilling the Core curriculum requirements. This is different from the proposal that circulated on Oct. 18, 2015, which stipulated that “major coursework will fill some breadth requirements for all students.”
The rule specifying that major coursework may not be double-counted toward fulfilling Core competency requirements means that students will have to take courses specifically designed to fulfill these. For example, under the new Core, Foundations of Science (FoS) will no longer count as fulfilling part of the curriculum, as was previously the case with FoS counting as an Ideas and Methods of Science course; students in natural sciences and engineering are expected to take a Data and Discovery Core competency course in addition to FoS.
This policy does not necessarily mean students in the Science division will have to take more courses to fulfill both their majors and the Core curriculum. On one hand, the number of courses under the new Core is lower than under the current one: six as opposed to eight. On the other hand, under the new Core curriculum, FoS may count as fulfilling the Experimental Inquiry or Quantitative Reasoning requirements.Under the new Core, courses in a student's major will not be double-counted as Core requirements.
The new Core redistributes the responsibility for certain objectives of the curriculum among specific courses. This resonates with what Professor of Literature Cyrus Patell stressed in his proposal for a new Core curriculum, which he put forth last year — according to Patell, the Core curriculum should be understood as a set of courses that work together to achieve the curriculum’s goals. He argued that individual courses in the curriculum should not be held accountable for achieving all of the Core curriculum’s objectives.
The Core colloquia thus emphasize multidisciplinarity and understanding of global challenges. The competency courses, on the other hand, provide breadth by establishing the relevance of disciplinary thinking. Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Development and chair of the Core Curriculum Committee Bryan Waterman said that this distinguishes the new Core.
"This is a lean and focused Core. It's significantly smaller than Core programs at some of our peer institutions, but that allows us both to be more focused and purposeful in the Core's identity and to leave room for as much flexibility and independent exploration as possible," said Waterman.
In terms of transition to the new Core curriculum, rising sophomores, juniors and seniors — the classes of 2017-19 — have the option to complete the current Core curriculum while dropping one course from any of the categories of the current Core, except a course with a writing workshop, also known as a writing intensive course. Effectively, this means the present Core curriculum was reduced to seven courses for students who have not yet completed their requirements.The present Core curriculum was reduced to seven courses for students who have not yet completed their Core curriculum requirements.
In addition to completing the present Core, rising sophomores also have the option to opt for the new Core curriculum. If they decide to do so, they can have their Writing Workshop class be counted as fulfilling one colloquium requirement. Rising sophomores who opt to take the new Core can also expect that whatever Core courses they have completed until the end of spring 2016 will count toward the new curriculum.
Most course listings and equivalencies are available online, but some are still being updated. Students can expect that courses in the old Core may be listed under the new Core competency courses and colloquia while others may not. Some courses in the new Core are still being reviewed by the relevant administrators and thus are not listed yet. A full list of courses will be available to students before registration starts on April 11.
Waterman invited students to be patient and understanding.
"Any curricular shift of this scale will bring some bumps,” said Waterman. “ We will work our hardest to make the transition seamless for current students, but I hope you'll be patient if we have a few things to smooth out as we go.”
Sebastián Rojas Cabal is managing editor. Email him at feedback@thegazelle.org.
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