Self-designed majors, which are also referred to as independent programs, interdepartmental majors, individual majors, and interdisciplinary studies, are a great option for students with academic interests that don’t fit neatly into one box. While double majoring provides you with undergraduate degrees in two fields, say English and History, self-designing a major allows you focus much more closely on areas within traditional fields that intersect in a way that prepares you for a more niche and specific academic and career-related goal.
We did research on small liberal arts schools that allow for the creation of your own major. Because there are countless ways that our blog readers can combine and customize programs, this blog post will look slightly different than the rest of this series. Below you’ll find a list of small liberal arts schools that allow for self-designed majors, and then we’ll dive into tips, tricks, and what you should be looking for.
Tips for creating your own major:
Do extensive research on the existing programs:
Because you’re essentially combining programs and hand-selecting courses, professors, and research opportunities at X school, you need to be fully aware of their offerings before applying. A student at Vassar created a major called mathematical modeling in the ecological sciences, a unique program built out by resources from the math department, the environmental studies department, and the earth science department. Ask yourself: Is the program I want to create rooted in STEM or the humanities, and how can I use (and build upon) the resources at X school to create a custom major? You might also try actually building an ideal curriculum, and looking for those courses at the schools on our list.
Research advising support and do a deep dive on the expertise of the professors in your desired field:
Any self-designed major will need faculty and advisor approval. And if you want to undertake a research project that would require support from a professor, you should ensure that the faculty is currently doing work in your desired field. For example, if you’re interested in agroecology or forest science and X school has one major for “environmental science,” you would look through the professors and find someone that could eventually oversee a project, or class, that you’re hoping to create.
Make sure that your major isn’t too closely related to the current offerings of X school, and is truly interdisciplinary:
After doing research on the schools above, most of them clearly state that if you’re primarily interested in an existing major and are peripherally interested in another, a major and a minor is your best bet. This means that you need to be able to prove that your program is necessary in the proposal, discussed in the next step.
Write your proposal:
At all of the links above, you’ll find information for writing your individual major proposal, which is typically done during freshman or sophomore year. This varies slightly from school to school, but successful proposals include a name and description of your major, an explanation as to why your studies must be pursued through your intended major, a course list, ideas for your senior project, and statements of support from professors and your advisor. Proposals require a lot of research, forward-thinking, and diligence – but they are not always approved. This is why you should start doing your research before you apply to a school with a goal of creating your own major, so that you enter as prepared as possible.
Successfully executed self-designed majors and programs blend disciplines and open new doors for motivated students. If you need figuring out where to apply, contact us here.