Individualized Major, BA or BS

Program Description

The Individualized Major program is designed to provide students with an exceptional academic experience based on their unique vision, allowing them to take ownership of their learning, develop a strong sense of self-efficacy, and experience personal and academic growth.

A bachelor’s degree with an Individualized Major meets all the standards of a college major but is composed of courses from two or more majors organized around a self-defined theme. Students work with an Individualized Major Advisor to develop and submit an Individualized Major Proposal detailing their on-campus or online degree plan and major title(s) to meet their individual academic and professional goals.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successfully completing a bachelor’s degree with an Individualized Major, students will be able to:

1. Achieve competence in the learning outcomes specified in the Individualized Major degree plan.
2. Express ideas and information effectively in speech and writing.
3. Apply unifying principles across disciplines to synthesize ideas.
4. Support a thesis on the basis of logic, reliable evidence, and openness to alternative points of view.
5. Work professionally with good communication, general reliability, and responsibility.

Individualized Major Proposal Guidelines

Students interested in an Individualized Major should contact the program director for detailed proposal guidelines. A student must work with an Individualized Major Advisor to develop, submit, and receive approval for their Individualized Major Proposal prior to completing 90 credits of undergraduate coursework. Students transferring in 70 or more credits earned at a prior institution can start working on their degree plan immediately. Transfer students with 90 credits must have their proposal approved by the end of their first semester of classes.

Required Proposal Components

The Individualized Major Proposal must include the following components:

• Coherence and Depth of Study
  Students may propose an Individualized Major in any academic subject area that permits coherent, in-depth study using resources available through the university and does not duplicate an existing program.
• Thematic Organization
  The degree plan must be organized around a central theme and a secondary theme. The central theme must be substantial enough in content to meet the standard of college study. The secondary theme must be related to the Science and Technology of Consciousness that connects the major’s interdisciplinary studies to life as a whole.
• Range of Knowledge
  The Individualized Major degree plan should provide for:
  A foundation of skills, concepts, and methods appropriate to the proposed area of study.
  • Study of leading thinkers in the field.
  • Planned opportunities to apply acquired knowledge and skills to real-world problems and issues or complete a substantial research project.
  • Knowledge of the Science and Technology of Consciousness relevant to the theme.
• Measurable Learning Outcomes
  The proposal must include well-defined Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) that describe measurable skills and abilities that the student plans to have acquired upon graduation. PLOs should include a range of measurable learning outcomes acquired through Consciousness-based study in their individualized major. Measurable outcomes may include abilities in areas such as written and verbal communication, information acquisition and application, quantitative and qualitative reasoning, critical thinking, and problem solving.
• Course Credit Minimums
  The proposed Individualized Major curriculum must include:
  • 16 credits of courses from one of the two areas of study outlined in the student’s interdisciplinary major
  • 24 credits of courses at the 300 level or above
• Internships
  The degree plan may include up to 16 credits for internships relevant to one or both areas of study in the student’s interdisciplinary major.
• Senior Project
  The degree plan must include an integrative capstone project to be completed during the Senior Project course. The capstone project must be a sustained, focused exploration of a selected topic, using methods appropriate to the subject and permitting reflection on and creative use of material encountered earlier in students’ studies. The capstone project may take any form, including, but not limited to, laboratory, field, or other empirical research; a substantial essay or research paper; a performance, panel, or public presentation; a community program; or a website. Projects in all formats must include a section relating the project to the Science of Consciousness. Alternatively, student may propose completing the senior project required for a bachelor’s degree program in one of the two areas of study outlined in the student’s interdisciplinary major. All Senior Projects must end with a self-evaluation paper and a seven-minute presentation to the Individualized Major department.

Faculty Supervision

One faculty member from each of the two academic disciplines that comprise the student’s proposed interdisciplinary major must read the Individualized Major Proposal. Both faculty members must agree to advise the student throughout its implementation. One faculty member should be an expert in an area of study referenced in the proposal. If there is no faculty member available with sufficient expertise in one of proposed disciplines, students must work with the Individualized Major Advisor to find an appropriate advisor with recognized expertise in the field.

Proposal Approval Process

After submission, the Individualized Major Proposal must be approved by the university’s Individualized Major Committee. After approval, the final degree plan is recorded in the Registrar’s database.

Graduation Requirements

To graduate with a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree with an Individualized Major, a student must successfully complete 128 total credits required for a bachelor’s degree, including the 4-credit Exploring Consciousness course required for all undergraduate students, and 8 credits of Writing for Career and Community courses, and one Forest Academy course in each semester in which the student is enrolled for 12 weeks or more. The required courses, STC 108 Exploring Consciousness  and FOR 200 Interdisciplinary Study and Dharma , fulfill the Forest Academy requirement for the semester in which each course is completed.

Students must also complete 48 credits of coursework designated in their Individualized Major Proposal, including 16 credits from one of the two areas of study in the student’s interdisciplinary major and 24 credits of courses at the 300 level or above. Up to 16 credits of internships may be applied to one or both areas of study. Some credits may be fulfilled with approved transfer credits from a prior institution. In the final semester, students must successfully complete 4-12 credits for IM 400 Individualized Major Senior Project  or the senior project required for a bachelor’s degree program in one of the two areas of study outlined in the student’s interdisciplinary major. All Senior Projects must end with a self-evaluation paper and a seven-minute presentation to the Individualized Major department.