A Case Study Of First Class Undergraduate Curriculum In The United States

At present,China's Universities are in the critical period of “double first-class” construction.The Ministry of Education proposes to enhance the quality of undergraduate education by strengthening the construction of undergraduate education,that is,to push the construction of first-class undergraduate education to a climax with the concept of “undergraduateoriented”.World-class universities need first-class undergraduate education to cultivate talents,and first-class undergraduate education needs first-class courses to support it.Therefore,the modern university focuses on curriculum,the curriculum should be worthy of the undergraduate education “black box”.In the construction of undergraduate education,the role played by curriculum is difficult to replace.In the exploration of undergraduate education mode and the reform of curriculum,American undergraduates can form their own characteristic undergraduate education and own characteristic curriculum system.The significance of the first-class American curriculum and the first-class undergraduate education to the first-class American undergraduate education constitutes the original intention of this study.As a world-renowned and top university,Harvard University has been leading the educational reform of universities in the United States and even the world.As the pioneer of educational reform,its curriculum is often imitated by other universities.In terms of undergraduate curriculum system,Harvard University adheres to the development model of “extensive and extensive”,focusing on providing students with a wide range of courses,insisting on research-based teaching and cultivating new creative talents.Williams college,as an elite college of arts and sciences in the United States,has always been regarded as the “model of undergraduate education”.With its “small but fine” characteristic course system,Williams college is committed to providing high-quality small-class teaching and experiential learning to achieve the goal of cultivating elite talents.Based on a large number of literature reading and interpretation of the official documents of case University,this paper tries to find commonalities in the curriculum and management of Harvard University and Williams College,explore the impact of curriculum on first-class undergraduate education,and make suggestions accordingly.First of all,it explains the reasons for the selection of case universities,and then expounds the curriculum setting and curriculum management of the firstclass case universities,and discusses the importance of curriculum in the development of undergraduate education.On the one hand,it summarizes the curriculum characteristics of American first-class undergraduate from four aspects of training objectives,curriculum structure,curriculum implementation and curriculum management,and on this basis,it focuses on the analysis of the promoting role of first-class courses in first-class undergraduate education,on the other hand,according to China's “double first-class” construction background,combined with the advantages of first-class course,put forward the proposal to the course construction and undergraduate education construction.