Individually Designed Program

The individually designed major allows highly motivated and self-directed students to pursue a course of study that falls outside of existing majors and minors by developing an individualized cross-disciplinary course of study. Students pursuing the major will integrate courses from various disciplines into a unified and coherent course of study that is academically sound and that will contribute to the indivual student’s intellectual development.

Students proposing an individually designed major must have a 2.5 or higher GPA for all Berry courses completed at the time of your application. Students must apply and recieve approval of the major before completing 70 hours of coursework.

The requirements of the major are as follows:

1. The principle of integration for the program of study can be historical, regional, thematic or problem focused.
2. The major must require at least 48 credit hours, at least 15 hours of which must be at the 300 or 400 level. The program should specify 36 hours of required coursework, and 12 hours of electives to be completed from among a designated list of courses.
3. The major must culminate in a course that requires a capstone paper or project that integrates the coursework.
4. Two Writing-Intensive courses must be included in the program of study.
5. The student must indicate the degree program under which the major would be completed and must complete the degree requirements as specific in the Catalog.

Students seeking to apply for approval of an individually designed major should complete the application form availableat www.berry.edu/provost/individual major. On the form, the student will propose a title for the major and offer an essay explaining how the selected courses and the proposed program of study best meets the student’s educational goals and specific learning outcomes. The student should select at least two faculty members in the curricular areas identified by the selected courses. The faculty members should sign the form, indicating their support of the proposal and their willingness to serve as the academic advisors to the students if the program is approved. The dean(s) of the faculty should also be asked to review the proposal and sign if they are endorsing the proposal. Applications will be reviewed by the Deans Council.