An immense academic overhaul at Drexel is now in the implementation phase, and the university-wide transformation is already yielding tangible results — such as enhanced programs in the Bennett S. LeBow College of Business through the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship integration as well as a planned undergraduate AI and machine learning major in the new College of Computing and Engineering.
These early indicators reflect how academic transformation is reshaping the Drexel experience — from the way programs are structured to how students connect knowledge across disciplines.
The three-year initiative began in the fall of 2024 and has moved from the design phase into full implementation. It involves reimagining every aspect of Drexel’s academic enterprise through a complete curriculum redesign, strategic college integrations and a transition to semesters to provide students more options over their educational journey, strengthen learning outcomes and better prepare graduates for the evolving world of work.
Complementing the curricular redesign, Drexel released its semester calendar framework this fall, a major milestone toward the August 2027 transition from the quarter calendar. The shift to semesters from quarter-based programs will allow for deeper learning, provide more scheduling flexibility and align Drexel with peer institutions — all while supporting cooperative education (co-op), global experiences and partnerships that define the University’s distinctive model of experiential education.
This top-to-bottom revision of academic offerings includes instilling three new core competencies across all programs:
Inquire & Analyze, Collaborate & Integrate, Apply & Engage
These competencies, already essential parts of the Drexel brand, will be embedded across disciplines to ensure every student gains the critical thinking, problem-solving and adaptability skills needed to continuously thrive.
A Collaborative Transformation
The initiative reached a pivotal milestone in May when the Faculty Senate supported a series of integrations between schools and colleges. The School of Education and the Goodwin College of Professional Studies’ First-Year Exploratory Studies program will join the College of Arts and Sciences, while the College of Engineering, the College of Computing & Informatics and the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems will unify into the new College of Engineering and Computing and become Drexel’s largest academic unit by enrollment.
Already, the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute has moved into the Dana and David Dornsife School of Public Health, and the Close School of Entrepreneurship has integrated within the LeBow College of Business.
Faculty and professional staff have volunteered to serve on working groups and devoted countless hours to this vital initiative, all while maintaining existing professional and personal responsibilities.
“You can’t do a project on this scale without faculty and staff being committed, and that commitment requires true partnership,” Jensen says. “Real buy-in means people own the work, and that only happens when you partner from the start.”
This collective approach is rooted in Drexel’s 2030 Strategic Plan and the 2022 formation of the University Advisory Committee on Academic Structure, each of which comprised a broad coalition across faculty, professional staff and administrators. Colleges and schools are now leading the implementation phases, extending the collaboration that began during the initial design phase.
A Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity
This transformation is an ambitious, once-in-a-generation effort that is aligned with Drexel’s history of reinvention and innovation in higher education. From being among the first universities to establish co-op to remaining a global leader in experiential education, Drexel continually evolves to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world.
These changes are designed to improve student retention and graduation rates, strengthen partnerships and enhance Drexel’s national competitiveness — all while preserving what has always made the University distinct: its integration of real-world experience into every facet of learning.
Through this process, Drexel will double down on experiential learning. A new Experiential Education Hub will help expand options and improve access through a cohesive ecosystem of hands-on opportunities — co-op, global engagement, research, civic learning and project-based courses. Starting with the entering class of 2027–28, experiential learning will be more formally and extensively integrated into academic programs.
The initiative’s impact is already visible as new interdisciplinary offerings and shared resources are helping students explore academic paths that better reflect Drexel’s strengths in innovation and collaboration. For example, the integration of the Close School of Entrepreneurship within LeBow has begun to shape a broader ecosystem for undergraduate programs.
Beginning in the fall of 2027, entrepreneurship will become a required core course for all LeBow students when it was previously offered only as an elective, ensuring students are exposed to an entrepreneurial mindset. Within LeBow’s BSBA program, entrepreneurship will also become a major alongside finance and accounting, creating a robust, co-disciplinary structure within the program.
The Close integration also led to a boost in enrollment for a special topics course that opened in September for the first time to students in LeBow and quickly filled within a week.
In another example of the power of integrating academic units, the newly formed College of Engineering and Computing will launch an undergraduate degree in artificial intelligence and machine learning in fall 2026, joining a small but growing group of universities offering dedicated AI majors.
In October, Drexel launched Drexel Health Clinical Operations, a centralized structure uniting 28 clinical entities across eight colleges and schools, including programs added with the University’s merger with the former Salus University over the summer. The initiative aims to improve efficiency, reduce risk and foster innovation in clinical education and practice.
This consolidation strengthens Drexel’s position as a leader in interprofessional health sciences education. It also provides students greater access to high-quality clinical placements, more consistent supervision and assessment, and broader opportunities to collaborate across disciplines — from nursing and medicine to public health.
The result is a more integrated, interprofessional approach to clinical education that reflects the future of health care and strengthens Drexel’s position as a leader in experiential, practice-based learning.
Preview to 2027: A Q&A
As this transformative process moves toward its 2027 milestone, the vision is beginning to take root across colleges, classrooms and co-ops. But what can students, faculty and alumni expect in the years ahead?
Nina Henderson Provost and Executive Vice President Paul E. Jensen, PhD, answered eight questions about what’s working, what’s changing, and Drexel’s future.
Q: What has Academic Transformation allowed Drexel to do that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise?
A: Academic Transformation provided us with a unique opportunity to step back and ask: What would make Drexel truly more student-centric and more so than any university in the country? The answer wasn’t incremental change; it meant rebuilding everything.
Q: How do core competencies fit into the vision?
A: We established core competencies that will matter long after graduation. Drexel’s core competencies aren’t static requirements, but adaptive frameworks designed to evolve as technology and work itself transforms. These competencies form a foundation students build at Drexel and carry into every job, every career pivot and every challenge they’ll face over the next 40 years.
Q: How will students experience these core competencies in their coursework?
A: At the highest level, they’re built around critical thinking and problem-solving. Every student will start with a common set of foundational courses that introduce core competencies. Think of it as building a shared vocabulary and toolkit that they’ll use throughout their time at Drexel and beyond.
The first of these courses will focus on inquiry and analysis — especially information literacy — and will be designed for a world where AI is reshaping how we find, evaluate and use information. Drexel is working with industry partners to ensure students won’t only learn about AI, but also how to utilize it intentionally and effectively.
Q: What does “being the global leader in experiential education” mean for Drexel?
A: It means guaranteeing that every student will engage in meaningful, hands-on experiences — whether that is co-op, global, civic engagement and/or research — on a scale almost no other institution can match. At Drexel, we don’t just prepare students to succeed after college; we invite them to start applying what they are learning now. Every co-op, every global trip, every civic partnership and hands-on learning experience is a rehearsal for the lives they will lead and the difference they will make.
