Phase Two: Develop a Comprehensive Framework for the University Core

The process for revising the core was guided by the principle that it should be faculty-driven and student-focused. 

2023–2025 > Establishing Core Requirements

During this stage, the Core Curriculum Committee mapped the vision and learning goals outlined in Phase One—Knowing, Learning, and Doing—onto a plan for learning experiences and instruction, and made programmatic decisions about the size of the core and the specific courses or other requirements students must fulfill. Guided by a spirit of curiosity, many possible models were considered, broadly explored, and widely discussed.

In the spring of 2025, the Core Curriculum Committee submitted a revised core curriculum, which failed to gain approval at the council level*.

2025–2026 > Reconciliation and Consensus

A Core Reconciliation Committee was formed in the fall of 2025 to solicit detailed feedback from the faculty on the proposed core curriculum and address concerns, reconcile differences, and ultimately reach consensus on the revised core curricular design.

Two rounds of feedback and redrafting, along with significant faculty participation, led to substantive changes to the original document, which was resubmitted to the relevant governing bodies in March 2026.

2026 > Approval of the Revised Core

All relevant bodies across Arts and Sciences, the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, the Gabelli School of Business, and the Board of Trustees approved the revised core curriculum proposed by the Core Reconciliation Committee in April 2026.

Learn more about the revised core.

*Approval of a revised core curriculum design requires an affirmative vote by the respective governance bodies in the Arts and Sciences, the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, and the Gabelli School of Business. This includes approval from councils at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, Fordham College at Rose Hill, and the Arts and Sciences Council, followed by a vote by the full faculty in Arts and Sciences. In the Gabelli School of Business, this includes a vote by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee before a vote by the Gabelli School Council.