Revitalize the undergraduate experience

We are re-envisioning our model for undergraduate education to better reflect the mission of JHU—to educate its students and cultivate their capacity for lifelong learning, to foster independent and original research, and to bring the benefits of discovery to the world.

Our strategies

Cultivate a common experience through the First-Year Foundation.

First-year students need support in the transition from high school to university. By offering first-year seminars and a foundational writing course in the first year, the Krieger School will support small-cohort learning communities in which students establish foundational critical thinking and writing skills as well as mentoring relationships with our faculty from their first year on campus.  In turn, these skills and relationships help students as they become part of the intellectual community at Johns Hopkins. In addition, we are changing the structure of academic advising to facilitate the role of faculty as mentors while also ensuring consistency and increasing student satisfaction and engagement in the advising process.

Encourage cross-disciplinary exploration and experimentation. 

We seek to broaden our students’ education by launching a new General Education model and related distribution requirements based on six core foundational abilities:

1. Writing and Communication;
2. Science and Data;
3. Culture and Aesthetics;
4. Citizens and Society;
5. Ethics and Foundations; and
6. Projects and Methods.

This new model preserves the depth and rigor of the major as central to the undergraduate intellectual experience in the Krieger School. At the same time, it aims to inculcate in our students the cross-disciplinary breadth and habits of mind essential to engage as rigorous, self-reflective, knowledgeable, creative citizens in a democratic society. 

Enrich learning through research and creative activity.

A signature component of a Hopkins undergraduate education is the ability to engage in primary research. The Krieger School is committed to increasing opportunities for mentored research as well as student-initiated learning both inside and outside the traditional classroom. Undergraduate research may occur on campus in project labs in the natural sciences, research labs in the humanities and social sciences, experiential labs in the field, and in funded research opportunities through the office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity.  Such opportunities will increase with the development of the Hopkins Semester, which will provide opportunities for co-curricular, immersive learning in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and beyond.

Our accomplishments

First-Year Foundation

AY2023-24 marked year two of a boldly re-envisioned undergraduate experience anchored in a required First-Year Seminar (FYS) in the fall and a required First-Year Writing Course in the spring. In the past year, KSAS offered 74 unique FYS courses and 72 sections of Reintroduction to Writing, each capped at 12 students. The First-Year Foundation contributed to a significant jump in a key metric for satisfaction with the undergraduate experience. Per the Enrolled Student Survey, students who indicated that one or more faculty member demonstrated a personal interest in their success moved from 45% in 2021 to 65% in 2023.

A new general education model

A new general education model has been approved by faculty governance structures. With assistance from the KSAS Dean’s office and the Office of the Registrar, all faculty undertook an exercise to tag their courses by Foundational Ability. After careful review to ensure that all KSAS majors can accommodate the increased breadth associated with the new distribution requirements, the model is ready to launch with the incoming class of 2024. To optimize the new model, students can rely on their academic advisors for holistic support throughout their studies.

Expanded research and creative activity

With most of our undergraduates engaging in research and creative activities, we have expanded access to such high-impact experiences. The Hopkins Semester D.C. launched in the spring with a curriculum of research and coursework around the theme Global Affairs and Policy. All students in the Hopkins Semester cohort completed experiential projects including internships at Brookings, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, federal agencies, and non-profit organizations. Students were also matched with D.C.-area Hopkins alumni and met throughout the semester.