Gallatin School of Individualized Study


The Gallatin School of Individualized Study is a small interdisciplinary college within New York University. Students design their own interdisciplinary program that meets their specific interests and career goals. Coursework can be taken at any of the schools that comprise NYU in addition to the school's own offerings.

History

Founded in 1972 as the University Without Walls, the school was renamed the Gallatin Division in 1976 after Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury under Thomas Jefferson, and the founder of NYU. In 1995, the school took its current name, The Gallatin School of Individualized Study.
Herbert London was the school's first dean through 1992. The Gallatin building is situated within the Campus of New York University just east of Washington Square Park at 1 Washington Place.
The Gallatin School's facilities on the corner of Washington Place and Broadway underwent a redesign from 2007-2008. It was the first renovation project at NYU to achieve LEED certification. The project earned a LEED Gold certification for the renovation of five floors of the existing building, including the construction of a theater, art gallery, classrooms, studios, and offices. The main building is named after Georgina Bloomberg.

Academics

Curriculum

Gallatin students develop a concentration, as opposed to a major, that is individualized to suit their interests and goals. A concentration can encompass multiple areas of study and often involves taking courses in various schools within NYU.
Rather than prescribing a specific set of courses, Gallatin employs a form of student-centered learning in which students are free to choose courses they are interested in but are expected to take responsibility for their own academic growth. There are, however, general requirements for graduation. Among these are:
Because Gallatin focuses on students at the individual level, advising is a major component of the program. Each student is assigned two advisors: a class advisor who serves the needs of a full grade level and an academic advisor, who is more involved at the individual level with helping students shape their concentrations. The academic advisors help identify the interests of their advisees, approve class schedules, attend advisee Colloquiums, and serve as the primary source of advising. Academic advisors are usually faculty members at Gallatin who share similar interests with advisee students, but advisors can come from any of the schools within NYU across several disciplines. Students can request to change academic advisors.

Colloquium

In order to qualify for graduation, all students in the Gallatin undergraduate program must successfully complete a final oral examination called the Colloquium. The Colloquium is an intellectual conversation among four people about a selection of books representing several academic disciplines and historical periods. The Colloquium provides an opportunity for students to reflect on their Gallatin concentration and to synthesize various experiences studying books, taking courses, doing independent studies and internships into an integrated discussion about several books and themes. In preparing for the Colloquium, each student creates a book list of twenty to twenty-five works and writes a brief paper known as the Rationale which describes the themes the student plans to discuss in the Colloquium.

Student life

There are a variety of student-run organizations at Gallatin that span a vast array of interests for both undergraduate and graduate students of the school:

Faculty