Liberal Studies houses the Liberal Studies Core, a two-year interdisciplinary global curriculum (HEGIS Code 5699*) from which students directly transition to 90 majors at NYU to complete their bachelor’s degree; the Global Liberal Studies four-year Bachelor of Arts degree (GLS) (HEGIS Code 4901*); and the Global Liberal Studies (GLS) Minor.
The Liberal Studies Core (LS Core) is a full-time interdisciplinary global curriculum that satisfies the core requirements at NYU during the first two years of study. It offers a comprehensive liberal arts background that serves as a strong foundation for further study. Students in good academic standing continue as juniors in GLS or in any major in the College of Arts and Science (CAS); the Gallatin School of Individualized Study (with concentration approval); the College of Global Public Health (including in a combined major with GLS); the Jonathan M. Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism; the Rory Meyers College of Nursing; the Schack Institute of Real Estate; the Silver School of Social Work; the Tisch Institute for Global Sport; non-portfolio majors at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development; three programs at the Tandon School of Engineering; a special tracked program as well as a competitive transfer program with the Tisch School of the Arts; and the Stern School of Business (by competitive transfer).
The LS Core is distinguished by small classes and an environment in which faculty and students work closely together to develop a community dedicated to learning. The LS Core functions like a small liberal arts college within the framework of a major research university.
The Liberal Studies faculty are actively engaged in their scholarly, creative, and professional fields, and they bring enormous enthusiasm and dedication to their teaching. The program fosters close contact between faculty and students in and out of the classroom, and all students are assigned a faculty mentor from the beginning of their studies. All LS Core students are eligible for the GLS Minor and earn one course toward the minor from their core requirements. LS Core students also have the opportunity to begin their first year at one of five global sites: Florence, London, Paris, Madrid (Fall 2020), and Washington, DC, through the First Year Away program. With support from LS global programs advisors, students also have access as sophomores to special Fall Away semester programs in Florence and Shanghai, in addition to study away options in either semester of their sophomore year throughout the global network.
The Global Liberal Studies Bachelor of Arts (GLS) is an innovative interdisciplinary bachelor's degree in the liberal arts, distinguished by experiential learning, study away, and independent research. GLS offers a rigorous course of study that combines ideas, materials, and methodologies from multiple fields of inquiry, building upon a globally infused core curriculum and focusing on one of six interdisciplinary concentrations in the sophomore year. The junior year is dedicated to experiential learning, including a semester long internship or place-based independent study, with most students studying away for the full year at one of nine academic sites (Abu Dhabi, Accra, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Florence, Madrid, Paris, Shanghai, and Tel Aviv). All seniors complete a senior thesis, based on original research or creative production. Students may gain a second major in CAS and any cross-school minor at NYU. Students can also pursue a combined bachelor’s degree in GLS and Global Public Health and 4+1 dual degrees (undergraduate and graduate) with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Global Public Health, and Wagner School of Public Policy. GLS majors may also begin their first year in the First Year Away program.
The GLS Minor is a 16 credit interdisciplinary course of study that provides students the opportunity to strengthen their understanding of global trends and explore critical cultural, political, economic, and social issues across borders. It requires a total of four courses (16 credits), some of which can be taken while studying away.
*HEGIS: Higher Education General Information Survey.
Degree and Certificate Programs as registered by the New York State Department of Education:
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