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Undergraduate Academics

Components of a Gallatin Education

Gallatin students develop individualized concentrations under the guidance of the School’s advisers, take core courses within Gallatin as well as courses in the other Schools of NYU, expand their knowledge by pursuing global study opportunities, cultivate experiential and self-directed educational opportunities outside of the classroom, engage with civic life both on campus and in greater New York City, and draw together all that they have learned in the senior colloquium, a final oral examination.

 

The Structure of a Four-Year Program

Gallatin undergraduates mark their progress by fulfilling a set of carefully defined expectations during each year of study.

Degree Requirements

Students follow the degree requirements in effect during the first semester in which they matriculate at Gallatin. In an Intellectual Autobiography and Plan for Concentration (IAPC), they articulate the academic plans which they will refine over the course of their undergraduate academic career. Students consult with their advisers to develop a concentration, a program of study organized around a theme, problem, activity, period of history, area of the world or some central idea. At the end of their final year of study, they synthesize various learning experiences by engaging their senior colloquium, an integrated discussion of several books and themes, from classical to modern, and reflect on their Gallatin concentration.

 

Study in the Other Schools of NYU

Gallatin students may take courses in most of the schools, departments, and programs of NYU--sometimes referred to as cross-school study. Each semester there are several hundred courses to choose from, many taught by some of the country’s leading research scholars and teachers. While Gallatin students must comply with each school’s policies about prerequisites and requirements, including restrictions in particular programs, the opportunity to take courses throughout the University enables them to develop a unique, interdisciplinary program of study.

 

Global Study

To expand their academic and cultural horizons, Gallatin students may take advantage of several forms of global learning that range from individual travel courses to summer courses to semester and year-long study away programs.

 

Civic Engagement

The School supports innovative and collaborative models of learning that reflect active participation in the communities outside our classrooms; the development of scholarship that is directly useful for practitioners, as well as other scholars; and a self-reflexive, critical analysis of ourselves and our place in civil society.

 

Internships and Other Learning Opportunities

A key part of the Gallatin curriculum, experiential learning bridges the gap between the classroom and the outside world. From global study to internships to courses in the Community Learning program, students are given the opportunity to combine community-based action with intensive reflection, to explore the relation between theory and practice and to develop skills and knowledge that will contribute to social change as well as to intellectual, personal, and professional growth.

 

Student-Directed Learning

Gallatin offers students an opportunity to pursue their interests through a variety of alternatives outside the traditional classroom: independent study, tutorials, private lessons, and senior project. The faculty encourage students to use these learning formats when appropriate.