

The University Core Renewal Committee invites proposals Complex Problems and Enduring Questions Courses to be taught in the 2024-2025 academic year. Contributing to the rigorous intellectual development and personal formation of our students in the tradition of a Jesuit, Catholic university, these interdisciplinary courses bring together faculty from different departments and/or schools and fulfill two different Core requirements (Arts, History, Literature, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Philosophy, Social Sciences, Theology, and Writing).
Both Complex Problems and Enduring Questions courses integrate co-curricular programming—Reflection Sessions—that deepens academic study with opportunities for exploration and personal growth.
Full time faculty receive a stipend of $12,500 for Complex Problems courses, and $7,500 for Enduring Questions courses in exchange for preparing their syllabi and attending pedagogical workshops. For each faculty member, a Complex Problem class counts as two courses of his or her normal teaching load. Part-time faculty are not eligible to apply.
Boston College faculty discuss the challenges and rewards of teaching interdisciplinary Complex Problems and Enduring Questions courses.
Application Process
(1) one joint course title and one-paragraph description;
(2) an explanation (500 word max.) of how the proposed course fulfills the characteristics of a Complex Problems course;
(3) the Core requirements your course fulfills;
(4) Department chair’s information;
(5) teaching preferences and constraints.
(1) an individual course title and one-paragraph description;
(2) a joint, one-paragraph course description;
(3) an explanation (500 word max.) of how the proposed course fulfills the characteristics of an Enduring Questions course;
(3) the Core requirements your course fulfills;
(4) Department chair’s information;
(5) teaching preferences and constraints.
If you have any questions, please contact the Core Office at: core@bc.edu.