Curriculum Characteristics

The curriculum characteristics can be broken down into the following streams:

• Research-rich environment may be of various kinds: active researchers may include the outcomes of their research into the curriculum; students may be encouraged to learn in research-like ways, tackling complex problems with a growing level of autonomy; students may work in an environment and culture that clearly values research.
  
  
• Advanced academic literacy refers to an approach to learning that stresses the student’s active involvement in understanding the discourse conventions of the discipline, in the belief that language is at the heart of a discipline.
  
  
• Interdisciplinarity occurs when academic perspectives from two or more disciplines and expert communities are brought together, often in relation to a “real world” issue, such as “the urban environment” in order to generate fresh approaches and insights that could not be attained by disciplines working independently.
  
  
• Global connectedness suggests that students should have not only a deep understanding of the wider significance of that which they are studying, but that they are likely to be able to participate effectively in an international environment. Year abroad schemes are an obvious example of provision designed to enhance such a capability.
  
  
• Community engagement recognises that students learn through experiences within and beyond the university, often through placements in community or business settings.

For more information on the work of each individual characteristic please see the respective Curriculum Working Group section of the website.