O.P. Jindal University Launches India’s First Global School For Liberal Arts & Humanities

Source: Gutenberg Communications | April 24, 2014

 

New Delhi: Imagine studying for an undergraduate degree for two years in India, in one of the best new universities and the next two years in one of America’s oldest and best private colleges in serene Florida whose famous alumni includes a Nobel Prize winner.

In a rapidly globalizing world, where transnational interaction and global exposure are integral parts of personal development, this is very much possible. Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities in collaboration with Rollins College, USA, has launched a first-of-its-kind undergraduate joint program in the Liberal Arts & Humanities, at the end of which students will receive an undergraduate qualification recognized both in the US and India.

Situated in the O.P. Jindal Global University campus at Sonipat, Haryana, Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities (JSLH) will offer a vibrant, social and educational experience where teachers and students from all over the world interact and work together to create a global intellectual hub.

Admissions for the inaugural batch beginning on August 1st, 2014 are now open. All students who have successfully passed the examination conducted by a Board/University at the 10+2 level of schooling or its equivalent are eligible to apply. JSLH has adopted a rolling admission policy selection process based on SAT or ACT scores, a 1000-word personal statement and a personal interview for shortlisted candidates.

Speaking on this special occasion Professor Dr. C. Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, O.P Jindal Global University, said, “The JSLH-Rollins dual B.A. degree will usher in a new way of teaching the liberal arts and humanities in India. Breaking away from the ossified Indian educational system of rote learning and term-end examinations, Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities will have an assessment methodology that includes writing and presenting papers and presentations and debates nearly every day of the week. Even while students deal with subjects of individual interest they simultaneously train to become excellent oral, written and visual communicators about those subjects.”

Ms. Kathleen Modrowski, Dean and Professor, Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities, further added, “The teaching approach at JSLH will emphasize multidisciplinary engagement. A work of art or literature will be analyzed not just through the prism of literature, but also via sociology, political science, history and even economics. JSLH will imbue its instruction methods with a holistic, 360-degree approach to subjects. With faculty being the bedrock of excellence in education, we are delighted to have on-board a global faculty team educated at universities like Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge, Columbia and Chicago. Many non-university speakers, experts, academics, industry professionals in the fields of liberal arts and humanities will also interact with the students. The O.P. Jindal University and the JSLH faculty will harness its wide extra-academic associations to generate a vibrancy that will become known for its talks and seminars as much as for its classroom riches.”

At JSLH students will study through the concept of ‘lenses’. These ‘lenses’ will help students to inquire, explain, represent, express and communicate phenomena they scrutinize in the classroom. For instance, a course on the history of ancient India will be studied through the lens of epics like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. These two epics will serve as the cornerstone for the study of ancient Indian history and philosophy. Similarly, epics like Iliad and Odyssey become the lenses to examine ancient European civilizations and philosophies.

The Jindal-Rollins dual degree B.A. program will strengthen the student’s chances of undertaking higher education in the US or Europe or securing a career after graduating from Rollins College. The first two years at JSLH will be a rigorous process of preparation for the next two years at Rollins College and the curriculum during the first two years will consist of core courses that will test the aptitude and latitude of students while automatically prepping them for the whole menu of courses available at Rollins College.

The annual program fee is INR 6, 00,000 excluding residence hall, dining and laundry which are an additional INR 1, 50,000 annually. For any further information regarding the admission process and fee structure, students can visit www.jslh.edu.in or [email protected]. For the two years at Rollins College, USA, the average holistic cost amounts to US$ 120,000.

 

About Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities

Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities (JSLH) is India’s first transnational humanities school. JSLH’s mission is to establish a center for interdisciplinary learning in India that will create world-class thinkers, leaders, creative entrepreneurs and innovators. The four-year undergraduate degree program offered by JSLH in liberal arts and humanities in collaboration with Rollins College, Florida, is a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary course which provides students an opportunity to study at one of the leading colleges in USA. The world-class faculties at JSLH include distinguished scholars educated or trained at universities like Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Columbia and Chicago. JSLH is led by the dean of the school and eminent educator, Kathleen Modrowski.

About Rollins College

Founded in 1885 by New England Congregationalists who sought to bring their style of liberal arts education to the Florida frontier, Rollins is a four-year, coeducational institution and the first recognized college in Florida.

About O.P. Jindal Global University

O.P Jindal Global University (JGU) is a non-profit global university established by the Haryana Private Universities (Second Amendment) Act, 2009. A philanthropic initiative of Mr. Naveen Jindal, Founding Chancellor, JGU envisions to promote world-class education in India. Located on an 80-acre state-of-the art residential campus in the National Capital Region of Delhi, JGU is one of the few universities in Asia that maintains a 1:15 faculty-student ratio and appoints faculty members from across the world with outstanding academic qualifications and experience. JGU has established five schools: Jindal Global Law School, Jindal Global Business School, Jindal School of International Affairs, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy and Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities.