Cambridge (Massachusetts): Harvard University had proposed a curriculum overhaul to emphasise sciences, religious beliefs and world cultures, according to a faculty committee final report.
The recommendations come after years of internal debate over what courses should be required of all Harvard students. The current core curriculum at America's oldest college has been criticised for focusing on narrow academic questions rather than real-world issues.
The final report calls for Harvard to require students to take a course in 'culture and belief', to introduce students to religion and ideas. The report calls for mandatory studies in seven areas, including analytical reasoning, ethical reasoning, physical sciences and related engineering, world societies and 'United States in the World' to help students connect to societies elsewhere.
"It is Harvard's mission to help students to lead flourishing and productive lives by providing a general education curriculum that is responsive to the conditions of the 21st century," the faculty committee said.
The recommendations are the latest chapter in a lengthy saga over revamping the university's core curriculum, which dates to the 1970s. Former president Lawrence Summers made reform a priority in 2001, but the work of several committees bogged down and initial recommendations were criticised as weak.
Summers resigned last year, forced out by faculty anger over his remarks that gender difference might in part explain a lack of women in the top science jobs, but also over his handling of other matters, including the curriculum review.
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