{"id":13494,"date":"2020-09-17T09:47:40","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T13:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/?page_id=13494"},"modified":"2024-12-13T13:32:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T18:32:11","slug":"prospective","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/admissions\/prospective\/","title":{"rendered":"Kilachand at a Glance"},"content":{"rendered":"

A brief overview of our unique curriculum and community.<\/span><\/h4>\n

We invite you to explore the central aspects of our program to determine whether the opportunities at Kilachand suit your interests and goals.<\/p>\n

Who We Are<\/h5>
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The Arvind and Chandan Nandlal Kilachand Honors College was founded in 2011 by a record gift of $25 million generously given by Boston University Trustee Rajen Kilachand<\/a>. This was followed by another gift of $10 million in 2012 to provide a residence, Kilachand Hall, for the College\u2019s students.<\/p>\n

Kilachand Honors College offers a challenging interdisciplinary liberal arts education grounded in exploration, discovery, and the real-world application of knowledge. Kilachand provides its students with an integrated, four-year curriculum that includes experiential and team learning opportunities, to be completed alongside the courses required by their majors. The Kilachand curriculum, through rigorous courses and enrichment experiences, asks students to use the tools and methods of every academic discipline to understand global challenges and develop practical solutions.<\/p>\n

Learn More<\/h4>\n
Our faculty, postdoctoral associates, and staff<\/span><\/a><\/h5>\n
Our mission, community, and learning objectives<\/span><\/a><\/h5>\n
Meet our Director, Professor Melissa Holt<\/span><\/a><\/h5>\n

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Kilachand Hall<\/h5>

\nAll first-year Kilachand students live together in Kilachand Hall<\/a> where many Kilachand courses and co-curricular events are held. The Kilachand Directors, Academic Advisors, and Post-Doctoral Fellows also have offices in Kilachand Hall and the frequent, informal interactions among students, faculty, and staff fosters a community of collegiality and support.<\/p>\n

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Our Students<\/h5>
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The students who thrive at Kilachand are intellectually curious and courageous, and they want to put their knowledge to use to benefit their communities. We seek students who wish to study an array of subjects across disciplines, as well as focus deeply on their major interests. The Kilachand curriculum asks students to use the tools and methods of every academic discipline to understand global challenges and develop practical solutions. Through rigorous courses and co-curricular events, students hone their capacity for critical reasoning and effective communication, skills that are crucial to every academic, intellectual, and socially responsible enterprise as well as to that all-important pursuit of shaping an engaged and fulfilling life beyond the university.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Kilachand Honors College strives to engage students inside and outside of the classroom. We encourage students to become Peer Mentors<\/a><\/span>, Kilachand Ambassadors<\/a>,<\/span> and members of the Kilachand Leadership Advisory Board (KLAB)<\/span><\/a>. Kilachand Honors College student groups give Kilachand students the opportunity to engage with peers and administrators in Kilachand, hold leadership positions, and represent Kilachand outside of the College.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Kilachand Curriculum<\/h5>
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The Kilachand curriculum invites students to formulate and discuss questions of scientific, social, ethical, and aesthetic significance and share their conclusions with a broad audience. Through a combination of seminars, lectures, break-out discussions, and experiential opportunities, students hone their creative and critical thinking skills and apply them to problems of contemporary relevance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students enroll in 20 – 30 units of Kilachand coursework over the course of four years. All Kilachand courses carry BU Hub units and the Kilachand curriculum is designed to provide students with a breadth of units across the Hub areas, allowing Kilachand students to satisfy a majority of the\u00a0<\/span>BU Hub<\/a>\u00a0through the Kilachand curriculum.<\/span><\/p>\n

Through Kilachand, students gain the capacity to understand and confront major challenges as they affirmatively and skillfully engage with diverse social, cultural, scientific, and philosophical perspectives.<\/span><\/p>\n

Explore our curriculum<\/a><\/h5>\n

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Co-Curricular Events<\/h5>
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Kilachand\u00a0co-curricular events<\/a> offer students the opportunity to interact with accomplished scholars, artists, and professionals. Co-curricular events engage students in the broader implications of the Kilachand curriculum, help to build our living-learning community, and provide insight into scientific, artistic, technological, and political activities.\u00a0<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Past co-curricular guests include astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi, renowned film director Werner Herzog, and award-winning authors Zadie Smith and Min Jin Lee. Students often visit the Boston Ballet, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Institute of Contemporary Art for private talks and tours and group performances.<\/p>\n

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Keystone Project<\/h5>
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All Kilachand students complete a substantial work of empirical or scholarly research, creativity, or invention by the close of their senior year.<\/p>\n

The purpose of the Keystone Project<\/a> is to provide students with a sustained experience of intellectual discovery and an opportunity to share their work with a broader audience. This process begins in the junior year, when students learn to balance the excitement of imaginative approaches to their intellectual interests with the rigor of field-specific methodologies and begin to work on the design of their thesis or project. It continues in the senior year, as students conduct their research, write their thesis or produce their creative project, and assess the significance of the work they have done. The research thesis or project can take a variety of forms, but students must aim for the highest standards of the discipline or interdisciplinary area they select.<\/p>\n

Below, Kilachand alum Dr. Jamie Lim (SAR \u201914, MED \u201919) discusses how support from Kilachand allowed him to conduct research in Nepal for his Keystone Project.<\/span><\/p>\n