Syllabus Requirements
- Course Title and Number.
- Course description and student learning objectives. Outline the content area covered and the skills to be developed by the students on which they will be assessed.
- Course requirements. Describe the activities of the class, such as labs, recitations, exams, papers, projects.
- Schedule of assignments. List every assignment and its due date (readings, papers, presentations, etc.).
- Brief description of assignments. Each assignment should be clearly described. For example, a written assignment should indicate whether the writing is based on class materials or original research, as well as the word or page count. A presentation should include a target time limit, and what documentation (if any) is required. More detailed descriptions of assignments can be handed out in class during the semester.
- Required homework material. Please list approximate pages or word count for written texts, duration for video material, etc. The general rule of thumb is that the volume of assigned homework should conform to the amount of time allocated for out-of-class work per week, according to the selected course format (see above). Note that estimated homework time may be averaged over the semester.
- Grading criteria. List the evaluation criteria used to grade each assignment. This may vary per assignment.
- Grade breakdown. Include a percentage breakdown for all work that will impact the final grade. Note about attendance: Attendance cannot be part of a percentage of a student’s final grade: attendance is mandatory. However, it is common to have a participation component to a grade. Students should be penalized for not attending class, but a student cannot earn a grade merely by attending a class.
- Course policies and workload. Include policies for grading, make-up work, class participation, etc. List supervised and mandatory work outside of the class time (ie: virtual lectures, mandatory office hours, etc).
- Attendance policy. It is up to each instructor to set the attendance policies for a class, which must be clarified in the syllabus and include policies for tardiness as well as excused and unexcused absences. Attendance alone should not be given credit; it is, however, a pre-requisite to earning other forms of credit (for participation, etc.), that should be detailed in the grade breakdown. Please note that NYU policies specify that allowances must be made for religious holidays or medical leaves. Under federal HIPAA laws, instructors may not REQUIRE students to disclose medical conditions; they may, however, require documentation from medical providers indicating a valid medical condition (unspecified) existed that prevented a student from attending class.
- Additional resources. Listings of organizations, websites, books, or other research materials that students will be required to use.
- Statement of Academic Integrity - From the TSOA Policy and Procedures Handbook (include link): Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work as though it were your own. More specifically, plagiarism is to present as your own:
- a sequence of words quoted without quotation marks
- a paraphrased passage from another writer’s work
- ideas, sound recordings, computer data, or images composed or created by someone else.
- Accessibility Statement - Academic accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities. Please contact the Moses Center for Student Accessibility at 212-998-4980 for more information.
- Wellness Statement - Your health and safety are a priority at NYU. If you experience any health or mental health issues during this course, we encourage you to utilize the support services of the 24/7 NYUWellness Exchange 212-443-9999. Also, all students who may require an academic accommodation due to a qualified disability, physical or mental, please register with the Moses Center 212-998-4980. Please let your instructor know if you need help connecting to these resources.
- Incomplete policy (undergraduate courses only) - All undergraduate courses should reference NYU's incomplete policy. Sample language, including a link to the full policy and other resources, can be found by using this link.
- Title IX Statement - Tisch School of the Arts is dedicated to providing its students with a learning environment that is rigorous, respectful, supportive and nurturing so that they can engage in the free exchange of ideas and commit themselves fully to the study of their discipline. To that end, Tisch is committed to enforcing University policies prohibiting all forms of sexual misconduct as well as discrimination on the basis of sex and gender. Detailed information regarding these policies and the resources that are available to students through the Title IX office can be found here.
- Statement on AI use - University resources and policy guidance on AI can be found here.
Statement of Purpose
On a separate sheet outside of the syllabus, please provide a brief Statement of Purpose for the course being proposed. The statement should be approximately 200-1000 words in length.
The Statement of Purpose should provide the reviewing committee with information that helps them under- stand the purpose of the course and how it fits into the existing curriculum at Tisch. For example, is the course part of a larger curriculum shift by a department? Is it filling a hole currently in the curriculum? Is it a revision of an existing course? Remember that most or all of the reviewing committee will not be familiar with the disci- pline of the course, so feel free to provide background from your field to help us appreciate what about the course is innovative or distinctive and how it will serve the needs of Tisch students.
Also, help the committee understand the intended audience for the course. Is it a highly focused advanced class open to majors only? Or is it an introductory course open to any NYU student? What kind of student will most benefit from the class?
Lastly, if there are existing courses that overlap with the proposed class, particularly in other Tisch departments, help the committee understand the need for the proposed course. Please note that redundancy is not always negative. For example, an introductory course in Open Arts that overlaps with a more focused class open only to majors is perfectly valid. In this case, the Open Arts course gives non-majors at Tisch or from other NYU schools access to the topic. Please discuss any such possible curricular overlaps.
Do not include your statement of purpose as part of the syllabus. Please submit it as an additional document on the submission form.
Policy for Course Credit Hours
This policy outlines the hourly accreditation of the Tisch School of the Arts courses as they relate to New York State guidelines.
Workload Estimator
Academic programs can use this tool to calculate course credit hours, including both supervised and supplemental class time.
If you are a faculty member submitting a new course proposal, please contact your department administrator. They will submit the syllabus and statement of purpose at the above link on your behalf.