How two required interdisciplinary courses anchor the junior and senior year experience
Quick Answer for Busy Parents
After foundational coursework in 9th and 10th grade, every Riverdale Upper School student takes two required interdisciplinary capstone courses: Constructing America in 11th grade, a team-taught English and history course examining how American identity has evolved through various texts and perspectives, and Integrated Liberal Studies in 12th grade, a multidisciplinary course drawing on philosophy, psychology, art, and literature. Beyond these, students can pursue independent studies or a senior project as a final expression of their academic interests.
Constructing America: 11th Grade
Constructing America is team-taught by English and history teachers, combining the two disciplines into a single course rather than running them in parallel. Juniors examine how American identity and the concept of “the American” have evolved through a range of texts and historical perspectives, pairing historical study with close literary analysis. Students who want to spend more time with the writers introduced in Constructing America, including authors like Hawthorne, Wharton, Hemingway, Faulkner, Larsen, Dickinson, and Hughes, can follow up with the elective American Literature course.
Why Team-Teach English and History?
Combining English and history into one team-taught course, rather than keeping them separate, forces students to treat historical events and the literature written about or during them as a single object of study, which is a different exercise than analyzing either discipline on its own.
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Integrated Liberal Studies: 12th Grade
Integrated Liberal Studies is Riverdale’s senior-year capstone, described as a multidisciplinary examination of questions of fundamental human importance drawing on philosophy, psychology, art, and literature. Rather than treating these as separate subjects, the course asks seniors to bring all four lenses to bear on the same central questions, functioning as a culminating experience that ties together threads from a student’s prior coursework before graduation.
| Course | Grade | Disciplines Combined |
| Constructing America | 11th | English and History |
| Integrated Liberal Studies | 12th | Philosophy, Psychology, Art, and Literature |
Independent Studies and Senior Projects
Beyond the required capstone sequence, upper school students can pursue independent studies or design their own senior project as a culmination of their Riverdale journey. Examples include participating in science research programs, developing apps in computer science, and even designing vehicles or building tiny homes, reflecting the same hands-on, project-based approach that runs through Riverdale’s broader academic model.
How Independent Studies Differ From Capstone Courses
Constructing America and Integrated Liberal Studies are required, cohort-based courses everyone takes in the same year; independent studies and senior projects are self-directed and vary entirely by student, making them a way to pursue a specific interest that the standard curriculum doesn’t cover.
How to Evaluate Riverdale’s Capstone Courses for Your Child
Riverdale’s two required capstone courses ensure that every student completes a cohesive, interdisciplinary academic journey by senior year. When comparing Riverdale to schools with traditional single-subject curricula, families should evaluate how Constructing America and Integrated Liberal Studies align with their child’s learning style, grading preferences, and college goals.
Cardinal Education guides families through these considerations, providing personalized academic advising and tutoring to help students excel in complex interdisciplinary environments and maximize their upper school experience.
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