Plural of curriculum

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The Plural of Curriculum

Both "curricula" and "curriculums" are accepted plurals of "curriculum."

• Universities are inserting more vocational skills into their curriculums to improve the employability of their students.
• The President subsequently instructed higher educational institutions to update their curricula to include value-based education to build the "character" of students.

The adjectival form is "curricular," which is most often seen in the term "extra curricular activities," meaning activities outside the syllabus (e.g., chess club).

The noun "curriculum" has a Latin root, which is the derivation of the plural "curricula." "Curriculums" (which adheres to the standard rules for forming plurals) is also an accepted plural.

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The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.

Type	Example of Type	Forming the Plural	Plural
Most Nouns	lamp scythe curriculum	add s	lamps scythes curriculums
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z	dress bus	add es	dresses buses
Nouns ending [consonant] o	hero zero tomato	add either s or es (There are no rules for this - you have to know.)	heroes zeros tomatoes
Nouns ending [vowel] o	patio ratio	add s	patios ratios
Nouns ending [consonant] y	story penny	change the y to an i and add es	stories pennies
Nouns ending [vowel] y	donkey chimney	add s	donkeys chimneys
Nouns ending f or fe	dwarf hoof	ves and/or s (There are no rules - you have to know.)	dwarfs hooves or hoofs
Exceptions	man louse	some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change	men lice
More exceptions	salmon sheep	some nouns do not change at all	salmon sheep
Foreign rulings	curriculum medium	some nouns adopt foreign rulings	curricula media

Read more about English spelling rules.

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Curriculum?

Confusion arises over the plural of "curriculum" because its plural form ("curricula") derives from Latin, and native English speakers are unsure whether "curriculums," which adheres to the standard ruling for forming plurals, has come into use. Many words with Latin roots (e.g., "nucleus," "stadium," "referendum") have either adopted a standard plural ending alongside the Latin one or have dropped the Latin one entirely (e.g., "referendums" but "referenda" ). Some have fully maintained their Latin plural (e.g., "stimuli" but "stimuluses" ).

With "curriculum," both plural forms are acceptable, but "curricula" is the most common by far. [evidence]

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