Student Constructed Major

Contact the Director of the Academic Advising Center, Beverly Chew, Professor.

The Student Constructed Major (SCM) allows a student to design a major to meet specific needs and purposes that cannot be met in any other way. The Student Constructed Major is interdisciplinary in nature and differs substantially from established curriculum course combinations and emphases already available through major, minors and electives. The major may include course offerings from any of the schools (Behavioral and Natural Sciences, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, or Business Administration) and courses from the Department of Teacher Education.

The Student Constructed Major is designed in consultation with the SCM Coordinator in the Academic Advising Center who will guide the student to the appropriate faculty advisor depending on subject and/or course content of the major. The formal contract for the Student Constructed Major needs to be submitted prior to petitioning for graduation (80 credits, approximately the end of the first term of the junior year). The SCM contract must be approved by the student’s faculty advisor, the Registrar (or designee), the Dean of the appropriate school, and the Vice President for Academic Affairs (or designee). On the final transcript, the major will appear as “Student-Constructed Major – ” followed by the title of the Student-Constructed Major.

Student Constructed Majors are comprised of a minimum of 44 credits of course work. The SCM must include an appropriate Writing Intensive course (W) and at least two credits of an appropriate departmental senior seminar (496) or a senior year independent study (499). Forty percent of the SCM courses must be numbered 300 or above. Courses taken to satisfy TS1, Q and W requirements may be included in the list of major courses if appropriate. Courses taken to satisfy TS2 general education requirements may not be included as required courses in the major, however, a SCM may include one or more TS2 courses within a list of course options from which the student will choose one course. TS2 courses listed in this way can count both for the major requirements and for the TS2 requirements.

Students interested in a student-constructed major must begin the process through the Academic Advising Center, 140 Miller Student Center, 970-247-7085.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE WITH A STUDENT CONSTRUCTED MAJOR:

General Education 35-46

Specific Requirements for the Major:

Minimum of 44 credits of course work (must include Group W

writing course and at least two credits of a 496

Senior Seminar or a 499 Independent Study taken

during the senior year) 44

**Note that Thematic Studies 1 courses may also count toward the major. 12-16 credits of Thematic Studies 1 could be counted toward major requirements.

Free Electives (variable)

TOTAL REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION 120

Note to transfer and former students: If you have taken any of your major requirements and received a different number of credits than listed above, you may need to complete additional major credit requirements.