Liberal Studies vs. Global Liberal Studies

The Liberal Studies Core

The Liberal Studies Core is a two-year curriculum spanning your first and second years at NYU. You’ll focus on great works in a global context, reading classic books like the Iliad and Sundiata and studying philosophies from Plato to Sun Tzu. These foundational classes lay the groundwork for analyzing contemporary issues. While all undergraduate schools at NYU include a core curriculum, courses in the Liberal Studies Core are small seminars of no more than 25 students, fostering lively discussions and close relationships with faculty.

After your first two years, you will work with your adviser toward a seamless transition into one of nearly 100 majors across NYU’s other schools, including Global Liberal Studies (GLS). Throughout your time in the Liberal Studies Core, you will have ample opportunities to take classes in other disciplines and schools, allowing you to explore different majors and programs to find the right fit.

Jack Sloan, a senior who started in the Liberal Studies Core, transitioned to a major in Environmental Studies with minors in Spanish and Philosophy. “Especially as I was unsure of my major at first, the transition period where I could take electives and try other classes without being set on a major was helpful,” he shares. “Meetings with my adviser as well as administrators in GLS, environmental studies, and other departments helped me choose Environmental Studies as the major for me.”

Global Liberal Studies

Global Liberal Studies is an interdisciplinary, four-year degree program. Your first-year curriculum will look similar to the Liberal Studies Core, but during your sophomore year, you’ll choose one of seven concentrations and begin taking specialized concentration courses.

Then, during your junior year, you will study away! GLS students spend a full academic year at one of NYU’s global sites. There, you will become fluent in another language, experience a new culture, and spend a quarter of your time at NYU in another country. When you return, you’ll write a thesis, synthesizing everything you’ve learned while at NYU.

For example, senior Abbey Ngo intended to transition from the Liberal Studies Core into a Politics major at the College of Arts and Science. But after discovering how much she enjoyed the discussion-based seminars, she decided to stay in the program, declaring a GLS major with a concentration in Politics, Rights, and Development alongside a second major in Data Science.

As a junior, Abbey studied away at NYU Paris, where she interned with a nongovernmental organization, traveled around Europe, and became comfortable speaking French. “The full-year study away for GLS is so special,” she says. “We had so much more time to integrate into the culture and truly know—and feel known by—the place we were living. GLS, and NYU overall, has completely expanded my world.”

First Year Global

Students in both the Liberal Studies Core and Global Liberal Studies can participate in First Year Global, spending their first year at NYU in Florence, London, Madrid, or Washington, DC. If you are in GLS, you can spend an additional year away during your junior year. If you’re in the Liberal Studies Core, you can spend a semester away at a different site as a sophomore, return to your original first-year location, or stay in New York City.

These global sites follow the same curriculum as the New York City campus with courses tailored to each location and a language requirement in Madrid and Florence. Academic advisers meet with students throughout the year, and a spring transition seminar helps prepare you for life in New York City.

Once sophomore year arrives, first-year global students transition to New York City with strong friendships already intact. “That smaller cohort can be a great launching pad to New York,” says Allison Michaud, director of global programs for Liberal Studies. She wants prospective students to know that—with enough advance planning—almost anything is possible in terms of global study for both Liberal Studies Core and GLS students. “Start conversations with your adviser early and often,” she suggests. “Tell them what you’re interested in and be specific.”

Feel Better?

Whether you choose the Liberal Studies Core or Global Liberal Studies, you’ll learn about the past in order to apply it to the future. If you want to spend four years studying history, philosophy, art, literature, global culture, language, and political theory, GLS could be for you. If you’re not sure what you want to study yet but know NYU is where you belong, the Liberal Studies Core is the perfect place to start.