Individualized Major, BA or BS

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The Process for Developing a Major or Minor

Overview:

The Individualized Major or Minor (IM) offers students the opportunity to create a curriculum around their own academic interests and life goals. Students use the Individualized Program to develop integrative majors or minors that Edgewood does not offer, or they use the program to add a specialized, integrative minor to a current major. The Individualized Program is a good option when students have interdisciplinary goals that are not possible to achieve with an existing Edgewood College major or minor, and when students want to pursue a major or minor we do not have in the catalog, but for which we have relevant courses available. It is not an appropriate choice when students do not have a clear sense of purpose, or when students are approaching graduation without another workable plan. Students contemplating an Individualized Major or Minor will need to do some careful planning in order for it to be approved. Students should begin planning as early as possible to develop their academic plan. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate the proposal, do the needed research, and write a proposal narrative that will be compelling to the IM Review Committee.

The Process for Developing an Individualized Major or Minor:

STEP ONE: Formulating an Idea and Expressing Interest

Students contemplating an Individualized IM should start by organizing their ideas and reviewing the Edgewood College catalog for course descriptions that match their interests. Courses transferred from other colleges may be used as well, so students should also gather information on transferable courses that might match their interests. Researching what other institutions offer in areas related to the student’s interest is also an important part of the idea formation process.
Once students have an idea (or several ideas) for the scope of the IM, they should talk first with their current advisor to share their ideas, and then will be referred to the appropriate School Dean, or designee, who can provide more detailed information about the IM process.

STEP TWO: Exploring the Feasibility of the Major/Minor

The appropriate School Dean (or designee) will either connect the student with an appropriate faculty member, or organize a meeting with appropriate faculty members to enlist the disciplinary expertise that can best inform the development of the IM. The faculty member(s) can assist the student in determining the best route to pursue and determine who can serve as a student’s IM advisor. Ultimately, this step is about determining the feasibility of the developing ideas, and identifying the best route to take to meet both student needs and academic integrity.

STEP THREE: Proposal Development

Students should then meet with their IM advisor to begin working on their proposal (see accompanying materials on pp. 5-7 of this packet). Students and their advisors will need to do the following:

review catalogs from institutions offering a major/minor similar to the one the student is interested in to see what kinds of courses may be used to fulfill requirements at the lower and upper levels
determine if courses will need to be taken at another institution, e.g., Madison College or UW
consider if some courses will need to be fulfilled through Independent Study
propose a plan for fulfilling the COR 3 General Education requirement (majors only)
determine how inquiry-based/experiential learning will be a component (majors only)
determine what courses will be taken and when by mapping out a degree plan
consider how the major/minor will achieve coherence and academic rigor
explore if it could be valuable to consult additional faculty members and/or community partners as part of the planning process

The first step in the proposal development process is to develop a proposal outline. A proposal outline offers a sketch or bulleted ideas following the format of the narrative (see guidelines on page 7 of this packet). Once the student and the IM advisor are comfortable with the outline the student should initiate the scheduling of an initial feedback meeting with the appropriate School Dean, or designee.

STEP FOUR: Submission of Proposal

After getting feedback on their proposal outline, students will finalize their application making sure to follow the policies printed in the college catalog and in accordance with the Individualized Major/Minor checklist using the Individualized Major/Minor forms. The proposal should be submitted to the appropriate School Dean, (or designee) who will then distribute it to the IM Review Committee. Accompanying the student’s proposal should be the IM advisor’s letter of recommendation for the student, which will address the reasoning behind the application and how the major or minor supports the student’s learning goals.

STEP FIVE: Review and Presentation of Proposal

After the proposal has been submitted, the appropriate School Dean or designee will schedule a meeting to review the proposal. For Individualized Major proposals the student and the IM advisor will meet with the Review Committee to present and discuss the proposal. After the discussion with the student and IM advisor concludes, the Review Committee will consider the proposal. For minors, the student and IM advisor need not be present unless requested by at least one member of the Review Committee. The appropriate School Dean (or designee) will communicate feedback from the Review Committee to the student and IM faculty advisor within a week. Please note that the Review Committee consists of the appropriate School Dean, a faculty representative from the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, an at-large faculty member with interdisciplinary expertise, and the Registrar.

STEP SIX: Acceptance of Proposal/Completion of Degree

The Review Committee will either approve, conditionally approve, or not accept the proposal. If conditionally approved, revisions need to be made and resubmitted to the Review Committee through the appropriate School Dean or designee. If the proposal is not accepted the student can choose to meet with the appropriate School Dean, or designee, to get feedback and explore alternatives.
Any changes to the approved course map must be communicated to and approved by both the student’s IM advisor and the appropriate School Dean, or designee, in advance of making the changes.