The Bachelor's Degree with Individual Concentration (BDIC) program at the UMass Amherst offers highly motivated and self-directed students the opportunity to design their own major. As an alternative to traditional majors, the BDIC Program allows students to pursue their educational goals in areas not available within existing departmental curricula. With the help of a faculty Sponsor, students focus their major and select courses on the basis of a unifying issue, topic, theme, culture, period, or question called an area of concentration.
BDIC concentrations must be interdisciplinary, drawing from at least three fields or disciplines, and may not duplicate an existing major. Courses may be chosen from any of the departments within the University, and from the other campuses in the Five College Consortium. Internships and Independent Studies are strongly recommended for most majors. Students are also encouraged to participate in the Domestic and International exchange programs when relevant.
Each student's program of study is developed with the advice and approval of both the student's chosen faculty Sponsor and a BDIC faculty Supervisor. Each student is assigned to one of six academic clusters in BDIC - Arts and Cultural Studies; Business and Law; Civic Engagement and Public Health; Education and Human Services; Natural Science and Sustainability; Social Science. Each cluster has its own Supervisor. These areas are construed broadly and are not intended to limit the range of concentration areas available to BDIC majors.
If you are interested in BDIC, the first step is to visit the program office in 230 Commonwealth Honors College and meet with a Peer Advisor. These are current BDIC majors who can answer questions about the program and help you figure out whether BDIC is the right choice for you.