It was only in the third year of my undergraduate program that I was able to explore specific interests in my chosen major, Biology. This is ironic given that I, as a junior, am also required to have already decided on a research interest as well as a faculty supervisor for my capstone project. The Biology program at NYU Abu Dhabi, by placing far too much emphasis on Foundations of Science courses, leaves an insufficient amount of space for biology majors to explore and engage in their major-specific interests.

The requirement to complete six Foundation of Science courses over three semesters means that unless you place into Multivariable Calculus through the math placement test, you are a junior by the time you finish FoS. Like most people, I could only start taking Biology electives as a junior. However, the opportunity for prospective biology majors to take introductory level courses in, and develop a more in-depth understanding of, different subfields of Biology earlier on would enable students to ascertain what subfields of Biology interest them the most and make better-informed decisions about what research avenues they wish to pursue for their capstone project.

The presence of FoS as a prerequisite for all major specific classes not only denies Biology majors the opportunity to explore specific interests early on, but also discourages undecided first years from exploring natural science majors. If students had the option to dip their feet into introductory level Chemistry or Biology courses, without having to commit to a year and a half of FoS, it would encourage more first-years to consider majoring in these subjects. Such courses are offered at NYU New York — Human Reproduction and Development, Evolution of the Earth and Human Physiology are some introductory biology classes non-majors at NYUNY can take without prerequisites to simply explore their curiosities in biology. Additionally, given that FoS is not a requirement for biology majors at NYU NY, students there have the opportunity to take biology courses starting their first semester.

Furthermore, students at NYUAD come from different high school backgrounds — some of them more exposed to and prepared for the content covered in FoS than others. Thus, varying degrees of struggle exist inside a FoS classroom. Students who covered Electromagnetism in their high school curriculum will find FoS 3 and 4 Physics much easier to grasp than those who did not. For these students, the class also doesn’t hold much value, since they have already covered most of the material.

On the other hand, the content is much more overwhelming for students who are newly exposed to it, making it exceedingly hard for them to meaningfully engage with the lessons. It then simply becomes a matter of trudging through the class, as opposed to critically thinking about and learning the subject matter. As such, who is FoS really benefiting — those who are barely learning anything new or those who are not able to keep up with the content?

Students seem to only complain about the extremely demanding and inflexible nature of the FoS curriculum. Everything, from the number of classroom hours, lab assignments to midterms every three weeks, requires a significant commitment and is exceptionally draining.

Isha Gandham, Class of 2024, shared that she took a math class this semester to support the bioinformatic analysis she is doing in the lab; however, she had to drop it halfway into the semester because she could not manage the workload alongside FoS.

“I joined a lab this semester to gain wet lab experience and [I am required to] come in for two to three hours at a stretch for DNA extractions, but I simply don’t have a three hour window due to my FoS schedule,”she remarked.

“FoS puts so much emphasis on physics, and as a biology major, I [spent so much of my time] studying really advanced physics but find myself with a weak foundation in Biology. It does not make sense to me that we are able to graduate as biology majors with just four biology electives,” Yasmine El Hajj, Class of 2023, added.

As such, in addition to causing disproportionate stress among students, FoS also takes away from the time Biology majors could spend doing work and taking classes they are actually passionate about and that have a higher utility for their future work, including biological research.

To make matters worse, the number of Biology electives offered every semester is extremely inadequate. Every semester, no more than two to three electives are offered. Given that the biology program has only one biology-specific major requirement beyond FoS — Human Physiology — general electives are the only way we are able to take other biology classes. As such, it is extremely disappointing to only be offered three courses to choose from every semester, even though about 24 biology courses are listed on the Student Portal.

Moreover, classes such as Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, that are fundamental to all subfields of biology, are simply not offered at NYUAD. Almost any biological experiment requires the application of basic statistical concepts, from choosing samples and selecting the right number of trials, to performing tests of significance to confirm or reject hypotheses. Likewise, with the advent of high throughput genomics, biologists are beginning to grapple with massive data sets. Research studies that seek to investigate everything from exploring population histories by analyzing genomic data to understanding what microbes are present in the human body requires significant data manipulation and interpretation. Given the crucial nature of statistics and data science in biology, it is imperative that our university provides at least a few statistics and programming classes specifically geared towards biology majors.

It seems bizarre to me that as a biology major, I am required to take three semesters of physics and learn in-depth about quantum and particle physics, but statistical classes that will definitely help me in my capstone are neither requirements, nor offered, at NYUAD.

“Without the study away, the scope of classes is pretty narrow, so the only means to explore your interests in Biology at NYUAD is through research experience,” Mark Penjueli, Class of 2022, shared.

Hajj also mentioned that she finds herself at a disadvantage in relation to her NYU counterparts who have a wider selection of biology classes to choose from every semester, including Immunology, Fundamentals of Ecology and Evolution. Currently, biology majors are forced to rely on their study away to be able to take important and necessary biology electives.

While study away opportunities benefit us by providing access to resources, research centers and place-based learning not available at our home campus, the need to rely on a study away for a comprehensive undergraduate education is a clear indication of the inadequacies of the Biology program at NYUAD.