Sudden growth in the number of doctoral programs in black studies is helping to legitimize the discipline in academe, and diversity of curricula is providing students with many more choices of emphasis. Programs have a wide range of focus, from the broadest, the black American experience, to the African diaspora and comparative black studies.…

Although the first doctoral program in women's studies was established in 1969, it wasn't until the 1990s that mainstream institutions began creating such programs. Since then, a number of universities have developed both programs and separate departments. Some scholars worry that choosing such a nontraditional field will limit students' career…

North Seattle Community College has developed a program on "The Self Across Cultures in Psychology and Literature," constituting a student's full semester's workload. They attend two lectures, two seminars, and two writing workshops a week and read Western and non-Western texts, exploring themes by writing about them. (MSE)

A National Endowment for the Humanities report recommends a structured core undergraduate curriculum including two years of foreign language study and a year each of natural sciences, social sciences, and basic mathematics. It emphasizes Western texts but suggests two courses on other cultures. (MSE)

In response to declining enrollment and industry concerns about entry workers' skills and competencies, Drexel University (PA) has revamped its engineering curriculum to create a "technical liberal arts degree" that incorporates elements of other disciplines. Other institutions are experimenting with this and other approaches to…