What’s the plural of “curriculum”?
Curriculum is a Latin noun, and has two accepted plural noun forms: curriculums and curricula. Both are correct; though, curricula is the original Latin plural noun form. To that degree, anyone that considers themselves English language purists or conservatives should stick to the original Latin plural, curricula.
The committee reviewed several curriculums for the new program.
The university Senate approved the new list of recommended curricula.
The school offers multiple curriculum options.
The student followed a challenging curricula this year.
What’s the singular of curriculum?
Nowadays, curriculums is the more frequently used plural form of the singular noun, curriculum, meaning “a course, especially a fixed course of study at a college, university, or school,” 1824, from a Modern Latin”.
There are plenty common Latin nouns that have kept their form till Modern English: criteria is a plural noun, the singular of which is criterion, also from Latin. Likewise, media is plural for medium; bacteria is the pl. n. bacterium (sing. n).
Though the Latin plural/singular noun forms are irregular in English since they do not end in –s/-es, there is still an obvious pattern: singular nouns that end in -a/-um/-on switch to –a/-ae as a plural noun.
| singular | plural |
|---|---|
| colloquium | colloquia or colloquiums |
| referendum | referenda or referendums |
| memorandum | memoranda or memorandums |
| curriculum | curricula or curriculums |
| addendum | addenda or addendums |
| symposium | symposia or symposiums |
What does curriculum mean?
The Cambridge online dictionary defines the word curriculum as “the subjects studied in a school, college, etc. and what each subject includes: the school curriculum.” Dictionary.com defines curriculum as, “the aggregate of courses of study given in a school, college, university, etc.: The school is adding more science courses to its curriculum.“
The plural of “curriculum,” associate “curricula” with its Latin origin, visualizing multiple course lists (curricula) as ancient scrolls.
Examples of curriculum used in application
2. The Romans aren’t on this year’s curriculum.
4. The college has a liberal arts curriculum.
Examples of curricula used in application
2. The inclusion of corruption in the curricula will not of itself be sufficient to spread intolerance towards corrupt activities.
3. She compared the curricula of several schools before making her final decision.
4. The inclusion of a wide range of skills in Conservatorium curricula would enable music graduates to expand the scope of their performance and non-performance roles.
5. What factors influence research agendas and the creation of bioethics curricula?
Synonyms for curriculum
- syllabus/syllabi
- scheduling
- programme (UK)
- coursework
- academic year
- schoolwork
Origin of the word curriculum
From etymology online on curriculum (n.):
A course, especially a fixed course of study at a college, university, or school,” 1824, from a Modern Latin transferred use of classical Latin curriculum “a running, course, career”. Also according to etymonline on curriculum, apparently the word has been used in English as a Latin word since c. 1630s in Scottish universities.
What’s the difference between they’re, their, and there?
Work Sheet
What are the two accepted plural forms of “curriculum” mentioned in the post?
Which plural form of “curriculum” is considered the original Latin plural, according to the post?
According to the post, using the sentence “The school offers multiple curriculum options” demonstrates which common mistake?
Based on the blog post, which plural form of “curriculum” is now more frequently used?
The post mentions other Latin plurals. What is the singular form for the plural noun “bacteria”?
The committee reviewed several new for the elementary school.
The university Senate approved a new list of recommended .
The post warns against using the singular noun “” when a plural is needed.
The blog post states that “media” is the plural form of ““.
The sentence “The student followed a challenging curricula this year” is grammatically incorrect because it uses the plural form “” instead of a singular.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the plural forms of curriculum?
+
Which plural of curriculum is the original Latin?
+
Are both curriculums and curricula correct?
+
Which plural form is used more often now?
+
What are common mistakes with curriculum plurals?
+
Yash, D. "What’s the Plural of Curriculum?." Grammarflex, Jun 6, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/whats-the-plural-of-curriculum/.
Sources
-
Definition of curriculum.
