Science in the Liberal Arts Curriculum
The American Academy is undertaking a study to examine the role of science education
in the liberal arts curriculum. More than two-thirds of enrolled students at U.S.
colleges and universities do not major in the natural sciences, engineering, or
mathematics. For these students, the science courses they take in college represent
their last formal science education and preparation for the increasingly scientifically
and technologically based society of the 21st century. The primary objectives of
the study are to: 1) examine philosophies behind science requirements for nonscientists
in the liberal arts curriculum, 2) determine how non-science majors fulfill their
science requirements, and 3) disseminate findings to enrich discussions of curriculum
reform at higher education institutions.
The Academy has assembled a group of colleges and universities to join the project.
The partner institutions are providing information on how non-science majors at
their institutions fulfill their science requirements. In August 2007, the Academy
convened academic leaders from 34 universities and colleges to discuss science curricula
for non-science majors. The forum facilitated the exchange of information about
the course-taking habits of nonscientists and discussion of the goals of science
requirements for nonscientists and of new ideas for science education within the
liberal arts curriculum.
In January 2011, the Academy published a
volume of essays that reflects on ideas for teaching science
in the liberal arts curriculum and recommends a variety of strategies for higher-education
institutions. This publication will be useful to administrators and faculty members
who are in the process of updating their institutions’ curricula, thereby having
a positive influence on the state of science education at the post-secondary level
in this country.
The project is co-chaired by Jerrold Meinwald (Cornell University) and John
Hildebrand (University of Arizona). Authors of the upcoming publication include:
Jon Clardy (Harvard Medical School), Diane Ebert-May (Michigan State
University), Martha Haynes (Cornell University), Robert Hazen (Carnegie
Institution of Washington), Sally Hoskins (City College of New York), Chris
Impey (University of Arizona); Darcy Kelley (Columbia University),
Eugene Levy (Rice University), Jon Miller (Michigan State University),
Richard A. Muller (University of California, Berkeley), Don Randel
(Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), Frank Rhodes (Cornell University), and James
Trefil (George Mason University).
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