Students make over their major 

By Suzanne Johnson
Daily Forty-Niner
 
A simple yet often overlooked solution to the common practice of changing majors may be the Interdisciplinary Studies Program. 
 
For students whose academic and professional goals cannot be met through existing majors, the program provides the opportunity to customize a course of study. 
 
Special majors are not intended to help students avoid graduation requirements or unfavorable coursework in existing majors, said Evelyn Haralson, assistant director of the program. 
 
They are intended for students who were not granted admission into an impacted major or who have not yet completed a degree. 
 
The program is specifically for students whose legitimate goals are not compatible with existing programs.
 Student Stephanie Evans developed a comparative humanities major which explores how race, social class and gender influence American social and cultural identities.
 
You pick a major that interests you, something that is inherently motivating, Evans said. Itís cool to see what majors people come up with. They really get creative, such as combining physics and music for a sound technician.
 
While a special major may satisfy individual goals, program coordinators caution students that it may not sufficiently prepare them to obtain higher degrees or to be successful in their chosen profession.
 
In order to be admitted into the program, a student must submit a proposal to the director of the program. Admission is based upon the rationale of the of the proposal, the academic merit of the proposed course of study, the applicantís potential to complete the program and the and the universityís ability to support the program, Haralson said. 
 
Faculty in the proposed areas of study is selected as advisors for the student. They must have a sufficient amount of expertise in the given subject and be willing to serve as an advisor throughout the entire course of study, Haralson said.
 
Each program must focus upon a central issue, topic or theme known in the area of concentration. 
 
In order to qualify, the area of concentration must be interdisciplinary, incorporating knowledge from at least three different fields, must not replicate an existing major and must be reasonable, he said.
 
Current programs which students have developed a focus in are: neuroscience, geriatrics and cultural studies. Majors such as Womenís Studies and Engineering Computer Sciences got their start from the program.
 
The Bachelor of Arts in Special Majors was approved by the Chancellorís Office in spring of 1973 and was first offered the following fall.
 
In 1993, minimum GPA requirements, 3.0 for undergraduates and 3.3 for graduates, were enforced as a strategy to control the growth of the program.
 
A special major must consist of a maximum 12 lower division units and a minimum of 28 upper division units. Courses taken to fulfill general education requirements may not be counted toward special major unit requirements, Haralson said.
 
In order to insure that students have carefully thought out their plan of action rather than attempting to get randomly completed courses approved as a major, applications must be submitted when one year of academic work and two-thirds of the upper-division units remain to be completed. 
 
The deadline to submit applications is the last day to withdraw from classes in any given semester.