2023-2024 BSC Catalog Updated_UG ONLY_FINAL[82]

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
51
Individualized Majors
An individualized major is created in response to specific needs and interests of the
student. Individualized majors draw from existing courses and are appropriate to the
institutional mission and are typically multi- or interdisciplinary in focus. However, an
individualized major differs from an interdisciplinary major in that it is not a planned
program of study designed by prior agreement between two or more disciplines. Criteria
under which individualized majors would be considered include the following:
• a program of study designed to broaden the undergraduate experience prior to
entering a specific professional career (e.g., political journalism,
communications)
• a program of study designed to provide background for graduate study or to aid
in preparation for a specific goal (e.g., art/psychology to prepare for graduate
school in art therapy)
• a program of study designed around the student's personal interests (e.g.,
Russian studies, medieval and Renaissance studies)
Individualized majors are designed during the student’s sophomore year in consultation
with a faculty committee consisting of at least three faculty members representing the
various disciplines involved. One of these committee members is designated chair. The
student must present a proposal to the committee outlining objectives for the major, and a
suggested program comprising no fewer than eight and no more than 20 units with at
least six units in one discipline, if possible above the introductory level. It must also
include at least one and preferably two courses that provide a synthesis of the areas
covered in the major (one of these courses may be the senior Exploration term project).
There shall be a distribution of 100-400 level courses with several 300-400 level courses
included, at least one of which shall be at the 400 level. EH 102 and Exploration term
projects should not be listed in the areas of concentration as these are requirements of the
College.
The student will include in the proposal a brief statement establishing the rationale for the
major, and why existing majors and minors fail to meet the student’s academic needs.
The proposal shall also be accompanied by an endorsement from the committee chair
which supports the aims of the major and verifies that the proposed major can be
accommodated by the College’s existing disciplines and programs. Before approving the
program, the student’s faculty committee will advise the student and make any necessary
revisions.
The program is drawn up into a contract. The student should then submit the completed
and signed proposal to the director of the Exploration Term and Contract Learning
Committee by the end of the sophomore year. Once the student’s faculty committee and
the Exploration Term and Contract Learning Committee have approved it, the contract is
sent to the Provost for final approval.
Birmingham-Southern College Catalog 2023-2024