Independent Program Guidelines for Admission
Requirements: The requirements for a major in the Independent Program are shown to the right. Note that units in excess of the minimum 12 may be taken at any level and may be ungraded or NRO work.
- a minimum of 12 units
- no more than two units at the 100-level
- at least four at the 300-level (which must include a senior thesis or project, work from at least two departments, and a minimum of two units taken for a letter grade)
- of the 12 units, none may be elected NRO and a maximum of three units may be ungraded
Admission to the Program:
The Committee on the Independent Program meets regularly throughout the year to discuss proposals. Because the process of declaring an Independent major generally involves several consultations and revisions (see below), students should expect to begin the process well in advance of the normal deadlines for declaring a major. Deadlines for submission of initial proposals are given below.
- If the student plans to include courses taken abroad at an approved JYA or Exchange program, the deadline is no later than the Friday following October Break of the sophomore year.
- If the student plans to include courses taken at another U.S. institution, the deadline is no later than the Friday of the first week of the spring semester of the sophomore year.
- For all other students, the deadline is March 1st of the sophomore year.
When considering an Independent major, the student is encouraged to consult relevant faculty. The first step in the procedure is for the student to meet with the director of the Independent Program. The student then submits a written proposal.
The Committee on the Independent Program examines the proposal, paying particular attention to its coherence, the pertinence of the courses to be included, and the feasibility of the student's plan. If necessary (and this is the usual case), the student then revises the proposal in close consultation with the advisers, secures their formal approval (conveyed by their signatures), and resubmits the proposal. Upon its approval by the committee, the student becomes an Independent major.
Advisers:
Once the student is an Independent major, the advisers assume the responsibility of guiding the student's program until graduation. In deciding upon advisers, the student should be aware of the faculty member's future plans and should try to choose at least one adviser who will be on campus throughout the student's work as Independent major. Should an adviser go on leave or leave the college permanently, the student, after consultation with the adviser, will recommend a replacement to be approved by the director.
The Proposal:
The written proposal informs the members of the Committee of the educational goals and plans of the student. It is important that the proposal be written clearly and that it define the goals of the major. Every proposal, typed with double spacing, must contain the following elements, in order:
- an IP cover sheet
- an essay describing the major (1-2 pages)
- a rationale for declaring this major rather than an already established major (1 paragraph)
- a preliminary proposal for a senior thesis topic (1 paragraph)
- a full description/justification of the courses to be included in the major (grouping courses where appropriate, 1-2 sentences per group or course)
- the names of potential advisers (with signatures if this is not the initial proposal)
Exchange Programs:
When appropriate to the major, a student may apply to study abroad or at another college in the U.S. during the junior year and may include all or some of this study toward the major. Choice of program and courses should be made in consultation with the Independent Program Committee as part of the proposal process (above).
Recent Major Titles
Class of 2005
- Media Studies
- Animation Studies and Production
- Philosophy of Dance
Class of 2004
- Urban Social Welfare
- Biochemical Visualization
- Forensic Archaeology
- Racial Identity Construction
- Political Culture and the Sociology of Development in Africa and the Caribbean
- Children and the Law in America
Class of 2003
- Peace Studies
- Critical Theory: The Institutional Relations of Art, Language and Culture Perspectives on Language
- Dramatic Writing, Myths, and Archetypes
- European Studies
- Poetry and Film
- Modernism and Modernity
- Conceptual Foundations of Design
- Language and Childhood Development
- Development and Growth in the Third World
Previous Years
- American Dramatic Literature
- Anthropology of Ancient Culture
- Architectural History in the Urban Context
- Architectural Studies
- Art and Feminism
- Art and Social Change
- Between Praxis and Paralysis
- Black Literature and Film Studies
- Child and the Visual Media
- Child in American Society: Image and Reality
- Child Study
- Children's Literature and Its Roots in Myth
- Civil Rights in America
- Communication and Culture
- Comparative Continental European Drama
- Comparative Literature
- Comparative Views of Nature
- Computer Music
- Construction of Medicine
- Costume Studies
- Creative Drama in the Classroom
- Cross Cultural Education
- Cross Cultural Studies of Childhood and Development
- Cultural and Comparative Linguistics
- Cultural Linguistics
- Cultural Relativity in World Health
- Dev't and Modernization in Africa and the Middle East
- Dialectical Study of Literature and Culture
- Directive Influences Upon the Individual
- Dramatic Writing
- Eastern Western Perceptions of Reality
- Ecology/Environmental Studies
- Environmental Biology
- Environmental Development
- Environmental Education
- Environmental Policy
- Environmental Studies
- Environmental Studies for Education
- Ethnobotany
- European Culture 1848-1933
- Evolution of Gender Roles
- Evolution, Adaptation and Behavior
- Far Eastern Art History
- Feminist Semiotics of Verbal and Visual Art
- Feminist Theory and Literature
- Film and Literature
- Flux in Socio-Political Cultures of Europe
- Folklore
- Gesture and Language
- History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies in Resistance
- Human Evolutionary Studies
- Image and Culture
- Inequality and Education
- Interdisciplinary Study of Human Nature
- Interpretation of Life Experience
- Islamic Studies
- Israeli and Palestinian Studies
- Jewish Studies
- Language in Thought and Action
- Linguistic Systems
- Linguistics
- Literary Theory: Comparative Literature
- Literature and Human Development
- Mathematical Modeling in the Ecological Sciences
- Media in American Politics
- Medical Practice in Developing Africa
- Modern Germany and The Soviet Union
- Modern History and Visual Culture
- Modernism
- Moral Institutions in the American Experience
- Multicultural and Bilingual Education
- Multicultural Educational Studies
- Myths, Archetypes, and the Collective Unconscious
- Native People of the Americas
- Nature of Film as a Popular Medium
- Oral Tradition in African and American Literature
- Orality and Literacy
- Perception
- Performance Study
- Philosophical Ramifications of Computer Technology for Art
- Philosophy and Literature
- Philosophy and Drama
- Philosophy and Film
- Poetry and Philosophy
- Political Economy
- Political Philosophy
- Political Theory and Nationality
- Politics in Film: Francophone Africa
- Politics of Repression and Expression
- Primate Studies
- Psychohistory and Women
- Psychology, Education, and Development of Emotionally Disturbed Children
- Religion and Politics
- Representations of Spirituality
- Role of the Body in Spiritual and Emotional Growth
- Russian Studies
- Russian/Soviet Studies
- Semiotics
- Social Ethical Aspects of Health
- Social Change: Ends and Means
- Social Construction and Human Biology
- Social Psychology of Communication through the Arts (Film)
- Sociolinguistics
- Sociological Issues through Narrative Screenwriting
- Spatial Structures: A Humanistic Approach to the Principles of Design
- Spiritual Representation in the Arts
- Spirituality, Song, and Society
- Studies in Oppression
- Technology and Global Development
- Technology and Writing
- Text and Image
- Third-World Studies
- Third-World Studies: West Africa and Southeast Asia
- Twentieth-Century Problems of Representation
- Urban Conflict: Causes and Resolutions