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The Individualized Major B.A. degree is meant to meet the needs of motivated students who are pursuing a liberal arts education, but whose interests cannot be fulfilled by established majors. The program is based on interdisciplinary study and it encourages creative and initiative-minded students to develop a challenging and closely-supervised academic program.

Some examples of Individualized Majors are:

  • American Studies
  • Medieval Studies
  • Women’s Studies
  • Culture and Aesthetics of a certain time period or geographical area (music, art, history, literature, philosophy...)
  • And more...

Career opportunities will depend on the focus of the major, but the skills demonstrated by developing such an original and rigorous program of study are very likely to impress potential employers. Furthermore, students will be prepared to pursue graduate studies in a variety of disciplines.

Requirements for an Individualized Major

Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Liberal Arts Core: 60 credits
Major
Individualized: 33 to 42 credits
(depending on the course of studies)
Open Electives: 20 to 29 credits
Total: 120 credits

To qualify for the Individualized Major, a student must have a strong overall academic record and obtain a 3.3 GPA minimum at the end of the freshman year.

The student must also develop a rigorous and coherent program of studies with the support of at least two faculty sponsors from different departments. An application must be filed with the Assistant Dean for Student Academic Affairs. This application must include a statement describing the student’s educational objectives, a proposed program of courses and the name of the faculty sponsor who agrees to serve as major advisor.

Before establishing such a program, a student must have completed at least 30 credits at Caldwell. However, the program must be established before the completion of 45 credits in order to avoid course scheduling conflicts.

Depending on the scope and focus of the program of studies, the Individualized Major will require 33 to 42 credits. Most courses should be at the 300 level or above (with room for some exceptions at the 200 level, depending on the department).

Statement of Outcomes Assessment

During the senior year, two semesters of independent study must be taken for the purpose of integrating the work comprising the major. The first semester will be a guided reading that will lead to the development of a project proposal. The project, produced during the last semester of the senior year, will be presented to an interdisciplinary panel of faculty members.