Bachelor's Degree with Individual Concentration

Degrees: Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Science

Contact: Prof. JosÈ Ornelas, Director;

Linda Roney, Coordinator

Office: 608 Goodell

Phone: 545-2504

Faculty Supervisors: Alexandrina Deschamps (Women's Studies), Henry Geddes (Communication), Gino Sorcinelli (Accounting), Paula Stamps (Public Health), Nikki Stoia (Music).

The Major

BDIC is a degree-granting program that offers motivated and self-directed students the op-portunity to design their own interdisciplinary majors under faculty guidance. The Program allows students to pursue their educational goals in areas not available within an existing departmental curriculum or traditional major on the campus. Each student's program of study (the "concentration") is developed with the advice and approval of a faculty sponsor (chosen by the student) and a BDIC faculty supervisor. Students confer with these faculty members on a regular basis as they progress through and continue to develop their programs.

BDIC concentrations are interdisciplinary, drawing upon at least two departments, and integrating approaches and knowledge from at least two disciplines. In planning their concentrations, students are encouraged not only to select courses from two or more departments or schools within the University, but also to draw upon the resources of the Five College consortium. BDIC majors frequently undertake independent study or field experience learning; study abroad is encouraged where relevant. Each concentration is developed to span four semesters (usually the junior and senior years).

BDIC majors earn either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree. (For the B.S., 60 credits are required in courses from the sciences and mathematics.) The student's transcript records the area of concentration. Because of the individualized nature of each student's program of study, BDIC has almost as many concentrations as it has students in the major. To guide and assist this diverse group, BDIC has a staff of five faculty supervisors and additional experienced faculty and staff, including many BDIC peer advisers. Each student is assigned to one of five academic clusters within BDIC: Arts and Cultural Studies; Business and Law; Communication; Education and Human Development; and Health, Natural Sciences, Computer Science and Engineering.

Admission to the Program

The BDIC major is a program of at least four semesters, planned and approved in advance. A minimum of 30 degree credits, with an overall grade point average of at least 2.0, is required for admission. Students may initiate the admission process as early as the second semester of their freshman year, if they will have met this minimum by the end of the semester. Incoming transfer students with 30 or more transfer credits may begin the admissions process as soon as they receive formal acceptance from the University. It is strongly recommended that students apply before their junior year. Later application, especially after the first semester of the junior year, may result in the need for additional semesters or summer sessions at the University.

The first step in the application process is to meet with a peer adviser, who will familiarize the student with BDIC and with the Program's requirements, and will discuss academic and career interests. In order to be accepted into the BDIC major, students must enroll in BDIC 396P, a one-credit independent study proposal writing course. During this course, students work with the proposal class instructor and a peer adviser in order to complete a proposal outlining their concentration. Final acceptance into BDIC comes with the completion of BDIC 396P at which time a BDIC faculty supervisor approves each student's proposal.

Major Requirements

1. Completion of BDIC 396P during which a proposal is completed.

2. Completion of at least 12 interrelated upper-division courses (numbered 300 or above) in the area of concentration, not including BDIC 396P or 496C. Each course must be passed with a minimum grade of C. Courses must be drawn from two or more departments each semester, and must be at least three credits each. A maximum of nine practicum credits (earned in field experience and internships) may be applied to the major.

3. Completion of BDIC 496C, Junior Year Writing in Interdisciplinary Studies course. This satisfies the University's Junior Year Writing requirement for BDIC majors. Students who have completed the Junior Year Writing requirement of another major are exempted from this requirement.

4. A six-page Senior Summary and a one-page Abstract at the completion of the major.

5. Completion of the foreign language requirement if six or more courses in the student's concentration are in departments in the Arts and Sciences (Colleges of Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Social and Behavioral Sciences). For guidelines on fulfilling the foreign language requirement, see the Arts and Sciences section of this Catalog.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the program have been very successful in the employment sector and in graduate or professional school. Past surveys of alumni have shown that 80% of those responding were either in careers or graduate school (or both) related to their individual concentrations. This success stems from the high level of motivation and capacity for self-direction characteristic of students who design their own major, as well as the specificity of their academic preparation for a given career and/or graduate program of study.

Recent BDIC Concentrations

The following list is drawn from the titles of programs designed by recent BDIC students. This provides only a sample of representative concentrations and is not meant to limit the possibilities for any potential majors:

Arts and Cultural Studies

Asian Studies

International Relations

Japan and the European Community

Modern European Cultural History

Third World Development

American Studies

History and Racism

Sociolinguistics

Philosophy and Literature

Cultural Studies through Literature and Politics

Arts Administration

Architecture and Culture

Comparative Religion and Holocaust Studies

Buddhist Philosophy through Art

Biblical Archaeology

Writing about American Society

Creative Writing

Theatre and Social Change

Human Ecology

Business and Law

Organizational Behavior

Entrepreneurial Studies

Computer Applications in Finance and Economics

Global Economics and Finance

Economics and Investments

Investment Psychology

Sales Strategies and Social Behavior

Human Resource Management

Labor-Management Relations

Land and Environmental Resource Management

Construction Management

Economics and Legal Studies

Law in Society

Southeast Asian Cultures and Commerce

International Trade and Foreign Policy

International Development and Finance

Communication

Screenwriting

Critical Film Studies

Film and Twentieth Century American Culture

Documentary Filmmaking/Native American Studies

Filmmaking: Directing for Cinema

Political Communication

Instructional Media

Consumer Psychology in Communication

Communication Arts and Film Technology

Photojournalism

Social Perspectives through Journalism

Public Relations in Sports Industries

Creative Writing and Advertising

Psychology and Advertising

Multimedia Technology in Advertising

Intercultural Communication

Archaeological Tourism

Education and Human Development

Adolescent Development and Education

Educational Media

Language and Speech Development

Educational Reform for a Multicultural Society

Public Policy and Human Services

The Therapeutic Application of Dance Education

Criminal Psychology

Health Education Counseling

Women's Health Issues and Eating Disorders

Gerontology and Social Welfare

Pre-Art Therapy

Culture, Society and Personality

Health and Fitness Management

Arts for the Handicapped

Writing Children's Literature

Health, Natural, and Computer Sciences/Engineering

Human Physiology and Psychology

Neuroscience

Bio-Ethics and Medical Sociology

Exercise Physiology and Nutrition

Nutrition and the Developing World

Public Health Policy

Holistic Health

Environmental Health and Science

Political Economy of Natural Resources

Primate Conservation

Environmental Chemistry and Anthropology

Ecological Economics

Human Factors Engineering

Computer Science/Linguistics

Computer Graphics

Educational Computer Animation

Systems Software Engineering

Building Construction Technique and Design Theory

Scientific Journalism

Land Use Planning and Policy

The Courses

396A Independent Study, 1-12 cr

396B Independent Study, 1-12 cr

396P Independent StudyóProposal, 1 cr

496A Independent Study, 1-12 cr

496B Independent Study, 1-12 cr

496C Junior Year Writing in Interdisciplinary Studies, 3 cr