Happy 20th birthday, BIC!

Twenty years ago, Baylor welcomed students on a journey unlike any other in academia — an interconnected curriculum, global in scope, that provided students with a different and comprehensive way to approach their general studies classes. This year, BIC — the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core — celebrates its 20th anniversary and, fittingly for a program with a global perspective, is working to provide opportunities for all 200 of its students each year to study and travel abroad.

The BIC, now part of Baylor’s Honors College, is comprised of classes across disciplines that offer students a variety of perspectives. Why? Because, as BIC teachers and administrators point out, life is interdisciplinary.

Each year, 200 students join the program and form learning communities with their fellow BIC students, in classes that encourage active learning. Active learning in BIC means reading primary texts. Instead of reading about Plato, students actually read Plato’s works; instead of reading about famous authors and thinkers from around the world, BIC students actually read great texts from every corner of the globe. It’s a program that fits well with Baylor’s mission of preparing students for global leadership by creating a strong foundation for understanding how their calling fits into the world around them.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, BIC is focusing on a plan that could transform student futures: a fundraising initiative to ensure that each student’s BIC journey takes them abroad. The vision is to see each BIC student studying Plato in Greece, learning more about the Bible in Israel or traveling to other locations around the globe that make studies come alive. Foreign travel scholarships could not only enhance the Baylor experience for BIC students, but help the program grow even larger in the future.

Gifts to the BIC Excellence Fund can make the vision a reality for students willing to take part in a challenging but rewarding program that is distinctly Baylor.

Sic ’em, Baylor Interdisciplinary Core!