Arvind and Chandan Nandlal Kilachand Honors College

The mission of the Kilachand Honors College is to create and realize a contemporary vision of the liberal arts. We seek new ways to fulfill traditional ideals, including the love of learning, intellectual curiosity, self-development, empathy for other peoples and cultures, clarity of thought and expression. Kilachand rests on three pillars: an integrated, four-year curriculum; an extensive series of co-curricular events that include site-visits to leading cultural institutions as well as talks and readings by leading figures in the arts, sciences, and professions; and, finally, a living and learning community that offers students both the personal atmosphere of a small liberal arts college and easy access to the intellectual range and resources of a major urban research university.

The Kilachand curriculum has several keynotes:

First, it attempts to integrate the arts, sciences, and professions and attempts to lower the barriers between pure and applied knowledge while avoiding an instrumental, utilitarian approach.

Second, the curriculum explores the commonalities and differences of various disciplines’ ways of knowing by looking at specific problems in a wide range of fields.

Third, the curriculum tries to connect teaching with research and creative activity by introducing students to their professors’ work and gradually preparing them to do research and partake in creative activity on their own.

Finally, the curriculum pays close attention to ethical, aesthetic, and social issues in order to foster self-development and citizenship.