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.
Is curriculum plural or singular?
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 of 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 plural noun for bacterium (singular noun).
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.
Curriculum & curricula, in application
| Examples of “curriculum” | Examples of “curricula” |
|---|---|
| Maths is an intrinsic part of the school curriculum. | Maths is an intrinsic part of any school’s curricula. |
| The Romans aren’t on this year’s curriculum. | The inclusion of corruption in the curricula will not of itself be sufficient to spread intolerance towards corrupt activities. |
| She demanded to see the school’s curriculum. | She compared the curricula of several schools before making her final decision. |
| The college has a liberal arts curriculum. | 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. |
| Times have changed since the liberal arts curriculum was developed. | What factors influence research agendas and the creation of bioethics curricula? |
Synonyms & nearby words
| Synonyms of curriculum | Nearby Words |
|---|---|
| syllabus/syllabi | lesson plan |
| scheduling | class schedule |
| programme (UK) | study plan |
| coursework | assignments |
| academic year | semester |
| schoolwork | homework |
Origin of the word curriculum
| Word | Origin & Etymology |
|---|---|
| curriculum | 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. |
Worksheet: Latin nouns
What are two plurals for “curriculum”?
Which plural is considered the original Latin form?
The sentence “The school offers multiple curriculum options” demonstrates which common mistake?
Which plural is more common nowadays?
What is the singular of “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.
FAQs
What are the plural forms of curriculum?
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Which plural of curriculum is the original Latin?
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Are both curriculums and curricula correct?
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Which plural form is used more often now?
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What are common mistakes with curriculum plurals?
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Yash, D. "What’s the Plural of Curriculum?." Grammarflex, Jun 21, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/whats-the-plural-of-curriculum/.
Sources
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Definition of curriculum.
