A curriculum is set guidelines that that have been established to help the educators to

decide on the content of a course. It is the curriculum that gives out the course objectives,
the contents, and methods that will be used to teach. Therefore, it prescribes not only what
should be taught or how it should be taught, but also why something should be taught.

Curriculum is usually set out by the administration of an institute. In government

educational institutions, the curriculum may be set out by the government. Educators often
make the syllabus using the curriculum. In addition, the curriculum also lets the teachers
measure the effectiveness of their teaching through standardized testing.

Syllabus is a descriptive list of subjects to be covered and a summary of

their content. It describes and summarizes what should be taught to the students.
Syllabuses, unlike curriculums, are made by individual teachers. Since they are
made by teachers, they can be tailored to suit the requirement of a particular class.
A syllabus have details such as schedule, assessments, assignments, projects, etc.
So it contains information such as dates on which assignments are to be submitted,
exam dates, details of projects, etc.

Syllabus is usually accessible to students; the syllabus is given out to students at

the beginning of the course or program, particular in secondary and tertiary
education. Therefore, they can use it as a guideline for their studies.

The basic differences between syllabus and curriculum are explained in the point given
below:

1. The syllabus is described as the summary of the topics covered or units to be

taught in the particular subject. Curriculum refers to the overall content, taught
in an educational system or a course.
2. Syllabus varies from teacher to teacher while the curriculum is same for all
teachers.
3. The term syllabus is a Greek origin, whereas the term curriculum is a Latin
origin.
4. The curriculum has a wider scope than the syllabus.
5. The syllabus is provided to the students by the teachers so that they can take an
interest in the subject. On the other hand, normally the curriculum is not made
available to the students unless specifically asked for.
6. Syllabus is descriptive in nature, but the curriculum is prescriptive.
7. Syllabus is set for a particular subject. Unlike curriculum, which covers a
particular course of study or a program.
8. Syllabus is prepared by teachers. Conversely, a curriculum is decided by the
government or the school or college administration.
 9. The duration of a syllabus is for a year only, but curriculum lasts till the
completion of the course.

Difference Between Curriculum and Syllabus

Meaning
Curriculum is a set of courses, coursework and their content offered at an educational institution.
Syllabus is a descriptive list of subjects that are to be taught in a class.
Made by
Curriculum is made at the state, district or institute level.
Syllabus is made by individual teachers.
Adjustments
Curriculum cannot be easily adjusted.
Syllabus can be adjusted easily.
Prescriptive vs Descriptive
Curriculum is prescriptive.
Syllabus is descriptive.
Content
Curriculum contains information like course content, objectives, methodologies etc.
Syllabus contains a list of subjects to be covered, details about assignments, assessments, etc.
Students
Curriculum is not accessible to students.
Syllabus is accessible to students.

Syllabus Vs Curriculum: Key Differences

Syllabus vs Curriculum Curriculum Syllabus

Meaning A set of guidelines of the A document that has all the
different academic contents information about different
and chapters that are topics or concepts that need
covered during a program to be covered for a particular
offered by a particular subject.
educational institution.
Nature Prescriptive Descriptive
Structured For Complete Course Each Subject Under the Course
Determined By Administration of College, Exam Board
Institute or School or the
Government
Scope Wide Narrow
Uniformity Uniform for all the teachers Different from one
teacher to another
Term Duration Until the course lasts A fixed-term,
can also be a year

A curriculum also helps in planning how a certain subject or course will be taught while
the syllabus just includes topics and concepts that will be covered. 
Goal of syllabus

A syllabus lets students know what the course is about, why the course is taught,
where it is going, and what will be required for them to be successful in the
course (Altman & Cashin, 2003).

Goal of Curriculum

Curricular goals are broad, general statements of (1) what the department/program will
do to provide students with desired knowledge and skills, and (2) what students will do
so that they gain desired knowledge and skills.