Why BIC?
The best way to learn about the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core is to hear it straight from one of our incredible professors. This video featuring Dr. Sarah Walden should give you an excellent introduction.
BIC is a program in the Honors College.
The Baylor Interdisciplinary Core (BIC) is one of the programs in the Honors College at Baylor University. It offers Baylor students the opportunity to replace most general studies requirements with a unique, challenging, and diverse curriculum. Only 200 incoming freshmen are accepted each year.
How does BIC fit in the Honors College?
BIC is an alternative general education curriculum.
Instead of taking the University's traditional general education requirements (separate classes in English, history, religion, philosophy, and political science, for example), BIC students learn about these subjects through integrated coursework and active learning components, studying how these subjects intersect and influence the development of the world's cultures. Through the BIC, students fulfill most of Baylor's general education requirements by taking a challenging and integrated curriculum in which the interrelation of humanities, social sciences, and the physical sciences is demonstrated to provide context with which to better understand our world today. BIC courses include World Cultures, Examined Life, World of Rhetoric, Social World, and Natural World sequences.
Importance of an Interdisciplinary Education
BIC has a Unique Structure.
BIC is built on a cohort model which allows students to advance through this coursework in a learning community focused on small group discussion and the reading of primary texts. For example, instead of reading about Plato, BIC students actually read Plato's works. The BIC curriculum is completed largely during the freshman and sophomore years at Baylor. BIC students represent many of the various majors offered at Baylor, and this diversity greatly enhances the BIC's small group discussions. Because BIC courses are team-taught, students may benefit from the diversity in professors’ approaches. For example, a student may learn from (1) a professor from history about the historical context of Plato's work; (2) a professor from philosophy about the philosophical points Plato makes; and (3) a professor from English about the literary components of the work.
Meet the BIC!
The next Meet the BIC will be Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at 7:00PM.
Check out our BIC student and advisor panel from April's Meet the BIC. In this panel, our students studying Biology, Pre-Med, University Scholars, Honors Program, Engineering, Business, etc., discuss their experiences in the BIC program and how BIC is preparing them for careers in their respective fields.
Check out our faculty and student panel from March's Meet the BIC, where we discuss frequently asked questions, class structure, AP/dual credits, and much more! Watch the recording on Zoom (Passcode: G!dg%dE8):
BIC is a challenging program seeking to find students who are up for the challenge.
BIC students go on and do amazing things post-graduation. They are leaders within the field of law, medicine, social justice, education, business, and more. They appreciated the challenge because it took them higher than they imagined. Read about Catherine Rennell's experience here.