Individualized Major

Individualized Major

Many students will imagine complexes of courses that transcend the College's usual majors and cater to students' particular interests. In order to encourage such inventive thinking, Centenary offers its students the opportunity to construct an Individualized Major.

Learn more about the Individualized major

The individualized major will draw courses from at least two departments and will be between 22 and 48 hours, 20 of which must be at the 300 level or above. Students pursuing individualized majors must complete the usual Liberal Arts Explorations and any other requirements specific to their degree (B.A./B.S.) Courses taken within the Individualized Major may also be used to fulfill Liberal Arts Explorations.

Students who wish to pursue this option work with an advisor from the area they want to study to develop a proposal. The proposals should explain which courses they want to take, how courses form a field of study not offered at Centenary, and how they will integrate their work into a final project.

A form for submitting an individualized major proposal will be shared on the Registrar’s webpage. The approval process for the Individualized Major includes the following steps:

The approval process for the Individualized Major includes the following steps:

1. The student identifies a faculty advisor in an appropriate area who is prepared to supervise the Individualized Major.
2. Together, the student and advisor develop a proposal that
   • names and describes the major the student wants to pursue;
   • identifies the courses and experiences (internships, study abroad, etc.) that will make up the major;
   • explains how these courses and experiences are integrated; and distinct from current majors and minors;
   • describes a summary project, taken as an independent study (CDS 491-494) and supervised by the sponsoring advisor, that integrates the various aspects of the major.
3. All program coordinators whose programs contribute to the major must approve the proposal.
4. The Program Coordinator for the Individualized Major will review to ensure that they meet College requirements.
5. The Academic Policy Committee will review to ensure they meet College requirements and forward to the Registrar’s Office to process the major change.
6. Once approved, the Registrar’s Office will record the degree requirements.