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A division of Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Office: Second Floor, Heger Hall
Telephone: (516) 463-5412
Bernard J. Firestone, Dean
Gail Schwab, Senior Associate Dean for Curriculum and Personnel
Terry Godlove, Senior Associate Dean for First-Year Programs
S. Stavros Valenti, Senior Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs
Steven Costenoble, Associate Dean for Budget and Planning

Click on a link to bring you to the page section:

• Mission
• Realizing the Mission
• The New College for Interdisciplinary Studies Curriculum
• Admission to the Bachelor of Arts Program
• Transfer Students
• Block Courses and Semester-length Scheduling
• Domestic Off-campus Education
• Advisement
• Tuition
• University Without Walls
• Bachelor of Arts Program

Mission

New College for Interdisciplinary Studies is committed to intellectual inquiry and experiential learning as the foundation for an education in the liberal arts. The College offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in the Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Creative Arts to students seeking individualized, innovative, and interdisciplinary approaches to learning.

In keeping with the liberal arts tradition of the University, the New College for Interdisciplinary Studies curriculum encourages students to explore a range of academic disciplines, thereby enabling them to bring multiple perspectives to an understanding of themselves, the goals they want to achieve, and the world they inhabit. The course of study holds as well to the premise that academic, professional, and personal accomplishment in contemporary society require students to cultivate the ability to think critically, gather and analyze information efficiently, and communicate ideas effectively as both writers and speakers. Accordingly, the College aims to give students the theoretical and practical grounding for advanced study and success in the careers they wish to pursue, as well as the tools that will allow them to meet diverse academic and professional challenges.

Through an emphasis on first-hand experience, both in and outside the classroom, the curriculum seeks to complement theory with practice, enabling students to expand their knowledge of the material they are studying and preparing them as fully as possible for the future. In all phases of the curriculum, New College for Interdisciplinary Studies also aims to make students aware of the importance of civic engagement, the merits of diversity, and their obligations as global citizens in a complex and changing world.

Realizing the Mission

In adhering to its mission of providing students with a distinctive education that reaches across traditional boundaries, New College for Interdisciplinary Studies degree programs offer curricular opportunities that are unique to Hofstra.

Beginning in their sophomore year, New College for Interdisciplinary Studies students go on the regular undergraduate academic schedule. This enables them to take courses throughout the University and—in close consultation with their adviser—to design an individualized, interdisciplinary concentration in two subject areas that incorporates their academic interests and career goals. Through a focus on written work and the revision process in courses, as well as requirements for independent projects, the curriculum guides students in the development of writing, oral presentation and research skills.

In the junior year, in addition to enrolling in courses elsewhere at Hofstra in the areas of their concentration, students take the New College for Interdisciplinary Studies Junior Colloquium in fall and spring. These courses provide students with opportunities to evaluate interdisciplinary research from multiple perspectives. Students attend lectures given by Hofstra faculty or outside speakers on interdisciplinary topics and also give a brief presentation about the subject areas that form their concentration.

Through its requirement for internships and/or study abroad, New College for Interdisciplinary Studies seeks to add an experiential dimension to the different components of the curriculum, and, whenever possible, to the areas of study that constitute the students’ concentration. By means of such first-hand experience, as well as in the classroom, the College also offers students opportunities to participate in and gain an appreciation for the value of civic responsibility and global understanding.

The New College for Interdisciplinary Studies Curriculum

New College for Interdisciplinary Studies offers students the opportunity to design their own, individualized B.A. degree in the Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences or Creative Arts.

During the sophomore year, and in close consultation with a mentor, students also begin to map out an individualized, interdisciplinary course of study. Instead of focusing on courses for a major in a single area, however, New College for Interdisciplinary Studies students design a concentration based on two subject areas that interest them the most. For example, students might pursue a concentration in literature and anthropology, economics and political science, or drama and dance.

Students may also choose from designated concentrations, such as conflict studies, behavioral economics, sustainability studies, or computer security.

Students participate in internships and/or study abroad programs, preferably in their junior year. In their senior year, they take a Capstone Seminar in the discipline of their choice and produce a Senior Project incorporating the areas of their concentration.

Domestic Off-campus Education

The domestic Off-Campus Education (OCE) program at New College for Interdisciplinary Studies offers all Hofstra students the opportunity to participate in internships for academic credit. Designed to combine learning in the classroom with practical experience, OCE has been a meaningful and enlightening educational experience for many Hofstra students since its inception in 1970. The program also offers students the opportunity to participate in internships such as The Washington Semester Program, the New York State Assembly Session Internship, and other related internships.

Students who wish to participate in domestic OCE programs must submit detailed proposals in the semester prior to the start of an internship. Written in consultation with the appropriate adviser, the proposal must make clear the student’s objectives and qualifications for the internship. The proposal must also indicate that there is a sound educational relationship between the intended internship and the student’s degree plan. Writing requirements are subject to New College for Interdisciplinary Studies guidelines or those established by the appropriate adviser. A member of the Hofstra faculty holds meetings and maintains contact with each student involved in the OCE program.

Students who register for a full-time semester-long internship that is not supervised by Hofstra faculty (e.g., Washington DC and Albany internship programs)  will pay a Study Abroad Administrative Fee of $750.  This fee is in addition to any program charges. For more information about domestic Off-Campus Education, please visit http://www.hofstra.edu/Academics/Colleges/NC/nc_oce_page.html, and/or contact the HCLAS Deans’ Office.

Advisement

New College for Interdisciplinary Studies intends its academic advisement to be close, informed, and augmented by the College’s presence within Hofstra University. Students have ready access to advisers for conferences, registration, and general information about the College, the University, and programs of study. Students are initially assigned a New College for Interdisciplinary Studies mentor, but may choose a different mentor as their academic interests become more defined.  In addition, students work with departmental and/or program advisers in their area of their concentration.

Tuition

The tuition policy of New College for Interdisciplinary Studies supports its flexible, individualized programs of study and its various modes of learning. Students registering as full-time (a minimum of 12 semester hours attempted per semester) are billed a fixed tuition amount. Full-time students normally register for 15 or 17 semester hours, consisting of five or six courses for each semester, chosen with the aid of a faculty adviser. Students may not register for more than 18 semester hours without special permission of their mentor and the dean of the academic unit. Those registering for fewer than 12 semester hours will be billed at the University’s part-time, per-credit rate. This tuition policy provides New College for Interdisciplinary Studies students with a wide range of educational choices within a fixed tuition amount.

University Without Walls

University Without Walls at New College for Interdisciplinary Studies is a competency-based, Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science program for adults who can spend only limited time on campus, but whose life situations provide opportunity for full- or part-time learning.

Students work with advisers to structure individual programs of study which are pursued at home, on the job, in the community, through travel, and in the classroom and library. UWW individual curricula, based on students’ past experiences, allow advisers to assist students to design liberal arts programs of personal interest. One of four principal modes of learning is contractual—an agreement between the student and the advisor which shapes the student’s academic and intellectual work for a specific period. UWW does not count credit or time as measures of student progress toward the baccalaureate degree. Instead, UWW students work toward the development and demonstration of those abilities and competencies which, traditionally, have characterized the liberally educated person.

Individuals interested in the University Without Walls approach to the baccalaureate degree must present admission credentials similar to those required of all applicants to Hofstra undergraduate, degree-granting programs. UWW students must demonstrate a need for the “external” and individualized nature of UWW learning contracts through an on-campus interview and through an essay showing, in part, why their personal and professional commitments prevent their easy access to an on-campus, undergraduate program.

For additional information, consult the University Without Walls Addendum and/or contact the program director, Assistant Dean Rene Giminiani-Caputo, in Roosevelt Hall, Room 203, at (516) 463-5823.

Bachelor of Arts Program

New College for Interdisciplinary Studies offers four Bachelor of Arts degrees: Creative Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences.

A.     Candidates for graduation with the degree of Bachelor of Arts must fulfill the following requirements:

1.    Semester Hour Requirement:

The successful completion of at least 124 semester hours and a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 in work completed at Hofstra.

2.    Liberal Arts Requirement:

At least 94 semester hours of the total must be in liberal arts. Beyond this minimum, the student may elect either nonliberal arts courses or additional liberal arts courses. All courses in New College for Interdisciplinary Studies and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are offered for liberal arts credit unless otherwise noted.  

3.    Residency Requirement:

There are two requirements that must be completed in residence at Hofstra: 20 semester hours in the concentration, and the last 30 semester hours. To fulfill this requirement, New College for Interdisciplinary Studies students must complete in residence at least 6 semester hours in each of the two areas of the concentration. These 12 semester hours need not be included in the last 30 semester hours. As part of the 20 s.h. requirement in the concentration, during their senior year students must take in residence the Capstone Seminar (4 s.h.), and the Senior Project (4 s.h.).

4.    Block Course Scheduling and Requirements:

New College for Interdisciplinary Studies offers freshmen a block schedule in which each semester is divided into four consecutive units or blocks. Students take just one course at a time during each block. Each block is 3 ½ weeks long, meets four days a week, and is worth 4 semester hours, so that freshmen can earn 32 credits toward graduation in their first year. This schedule enables students to focus all of their attention and energy on one subject, in and outside of class.

5.    Sophomore Seminar:

In the fall semester of their second year, students must take the Sophomore Seminar Crossing Borders: Crossing Disciplines . This course carries Cross-Cultural (CC) distribution credit.

6.    Distribution Requirement:

In addition to the block courses taken in the first year, New College for Interdisciplinary Studies students must take at least six distribution courses as follows (see Distribution Courses  in the HCLAS section of this Bulletin):

a.    At least six semester hours in courses from the Humanities division. At least three semester hours must be in the Literature (LT) category and at least three semester hours in the Appreciation and Analysis (AA) or Creative Participation (CP) category.

b.    At least six semester hours in courses from the Natural Sciences/Mathematics/Computer Science division. At least three semester hours must be in the Natural Sciences (NS) category and at least three semester hours in the Mathematics/Computer Science (MC) category.

c.    At least six semester hours in courses from the Social Sciences division. At least three semester hours must be in the Behavioral Social Sciences (BH) category and at least three semester hours must be in the History, Philosophy, Religious Studies (HP) category.

d.    Courses taken on an optional Pass/D+/D/Fail basis may not be used to satisfy the New College for Interdisciplinary Studies distribution requirements. Note, however, that some distribution courses are given only on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis and may be used to fulfill distribution requirements.

7.    English Composition Requirement:

a.    In order to satisfy the University’s English composition requirement for WSC 1 , New College for Interdisciplinary Studies students must earn a grade of C- or better in Place and Identity  (4 s.h.) and a grade of P (C- or better) in the associated writing practicum (0 s.h.)  in the fall semester.  Otherwise, the student must take WSC 1 . In order to satisfy the University’s English composition requirement for WSC 2 , New College for Interdisciplinary Studies students must earn a grade of C- or better in the designated literature block course (4 s.h.) and a grade of P (C- or better) in the associated writing practicum  in the spring semester. Otherwise, the student must take WSC 2  (see Note 1).

b.    All New College for Interdisciplinary Studies students must take and pass the Hofstra Writing Proficiency Exam as a requirement for graduation. (Note 2)

8.    Foreign Language Requirement:

Completion of level 4 of a foreign language, placement above level 4, or completion of the Special Language Option. Students continuing a language studied in high school should follow option A below. Students who do not wish to continue the study of a foreign language studied in high school should follow option B below. International students may satisfy the language requirement either by completing ELP 36  or by placing out of the requirement by taking the placement examination in their native language.

Option A. Continuing a Language Studied in High School: For students continuing the same language studied in high school, the successful completion of level 4 of that language will satisfy the foreign language requirement. Placement for students continuing a language studied in high school:

• Students without transfer college credit in the foreign language studied in high school must take the language placement test (administered by the Language Laboratory) to determine placement in the proper level. No student shall receive credit toward graduation for any course below his or her level of placement in that language.
• Students with transfer college credit in the foreign language studied in high school should continue in the next level which follows that in which they have received credit.

For both transfer and non-transfer students continuing the same language studied in high school, the foreign language requirement can only be satisfied by completing level 4.

Option B. The Special Language Option: Students who do not wish to continue the study of a foreign language studied in high school may take levels 1 and 2 of a foreign language not previously studied and six semester hours chosen from the following:

levels 3 and/or 4 of that language;
levels 1 and/or 2 of any other foreign language not
     previously studied;
literature in translation;
comparative literature;
linguistics

Students who wish to use option B should file the Special Language Option Form with the Advisement Office. If the student’s high school transcript is not on file, the student must supply one in order to complete the process. NOTE: The Pass/D+/D/Fail Option is not available for courses taken in fulfillment of any language requirement.

9.    Requirements for the Concentration:

New College for Interdisciplinary Studies offers four Bachelor of Arts degrees: Creative Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. In addition to the General B.A. degree requirements, each New College for Interdisciplinary Studies degree requires that students, in consultation with an adviser, design a concentration in two distinct but related subject areas. The concentration consists of at least 38 semester hours. This includes at least 12 semester hours in each subject area, as well as 4 semester hours for the Capstone Seminar [Inactive] and 4 semester hours for the

Senior Project

 .

A student may not count more than 45 semester hours within a single discipline toward the 124 credits for the B.A. without special permission from the appropriate academic dean, except that this limit shall be 48 semester hours for those students qualifying and electing to undertake departmental honors courses.

In the spring semester of the sophomore year, each New College for Interdisciplinary Studies student must also design a Sophomore Contract in consultation with an adviser. This contract specifies the courses the student intends to take for the concentration.

10.    Pass/D+/D/Fail Option (P or D+ or D or F):

New College for Interdisciplinary Studies block courses may not be taken on an optional Pass/D+/D/Fail basis. See also “Pass/D+/D/Fail Option.”

B.     New College for Interdisciplinary Studies General B.A. Degree Requirements (Note 3)

1.    Place and Identity  + 3 other block courses  
       4 s.h. each (Fall of freshman year)
2.    Ways of Knowing  + 2 other block courses +

C.    Concentration Requirements:

At least 38 s.h. as specified in the Sophomore Contract, including the following: (Note 8)

1.    At least 12 semester hours in each of the two subject areas.
2.    Capstone Seminar
       4 s.h. (Fall of senior year)
3.   

D.    Requirements for Transfer Students:

1.    Block Courses:

a.    Enrollment in block courses is limited to freshmen.
b.    Freshmen who wish to transfer into New College for Interdisciplinary Studies must do so at the start of the fall or spring semester.
c.    For freshmen who transfer into New College for Interdisciplinary Studies at the start of the spring semester, the only block courses they may take are those offered in that semester.

2.    English Composition Requirement:

Students who transfer into New College for Interdisciplinary Studies must satisfy the requirements for WSC 1  and WSC 2 , as stipulated in the University Degree Requirements (see E.1 and 2) or their equivalent in New College for Interdisciplinary Studies under advisement.

3.    Sophomore Seminar:

Students who transfer into New College for Interdisciplinary Studies with the rank of sophomore or above must take the Sophomore Seminar Crossing Borders: Crossing Disciplines  in fulfilling their degree requirements.

4.    Distribution Requirement:

a.    Freshmen and those with higher standing who transfer into New College for Interdisciplinary Studies in the spring semester must fulfill HCLAS distribution requirements (see Distribution Courses ). Block courses may be counted toward the fulfillment of these requirements.

b.    In lieu of A.6, above, students who transfer into New College for Interdisciplinary Studies after their first year must fulfill the distribution course requirements for HCLAS and must take Crossing Borders: Crossing Disciplines  as a requirement for the degree.

Notes:

1  With the exception of the

2 See University Degree Requirements, E.3, for an exception to this requirement.

3 Transfer students should see section D, above.

4 See A.8., above.

5 See A.5., above.

6 See A.6., above.

7 The number of semester hours to be applied to internships and/or study abroad is determined in consultation with the adviser. Students may satisfy this requirement by taking more than one course.

8 For the Sophomore Contract, see A.9., above.

9 The

10 As indicated in Tuition and Fees, New College for Interdisciplinary Studies transfer students pay an additional $500 per semester.

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