Individualized Major

Students may choose to work with faculty members to develop individualized majors which meet their unique goals better than one of the regularly offered majors.

Process for Designing an Individualized Major

1. The student formulates ideas about his/her personal and career goals and possible areas of study.
2. The student discusses these ideas with a faculty member whose expertise or interests fits the possible area of study. The Office of Academic Affairs can help students identify possible faculty members.
3. With the faculty member’s guidance, the student prepares a proposal for an individualized major.
4. The faculty member and the department chair must sign the proposal before forwarding to Academic Council for review and approval.
5. The proposed individualized major should be approved by Academic Council before the end of the student’s sophomore year.

Proposal for an Individualized Major

A proposal for an individualized major consists of six parts:

1. Proposed Title of the major (and minor if also proposed).
2. Discussion of the student’s goals and how the proposed major and courses in the major will help him/her achieve these goals.
3. List of courses proposed for the major (and minor, if necessary):
   • Course number
   • Course name
   • Number of semester hours of each course
   • If a course will not be taken at the College, specify where it will be taken.
4. Total number of hours in the major (and minor, if necessary).
5. Course Sequence: Sequence of courses by semester, showing that prerequisites are appropriately scheduled. General studies and electives should be included in this plan.
6. A copy of the student’s current College transcript.

Sample proposals for individualized majors may be obtained from the Office of Academic Affairs.