Student-Designed, Interdisciplinary Majors and Minors
的 self-designed, interdisciplinary 主要的/小 is for students whose exceptional intellectual interests cross disciplinary boundaries. 的se 主要的s/小s should reflect a plan of study that cannot be replicated through one of the College’s existing 主要的s/小s. Like other 主要的s, a student-designed one must be coherent, provide curricular depth, and include a writing-intensive course and capstone project. It must represent a clearly defined field of study, more than a narrow research topic; and it cannot be pre-professional in orientation. Because students designing their own 主要的/小 are not attached to a particular department or program, they must be self-motivated academically and capable of working independently.
的 deadline for proposing a student-designed 主要的 is October 1 for approval in the fall semester and March 1 for approval in the spring semester. Proposals should be submitted no later than in the first semester of the junior year. In the case of student-designed 小s, moreover, the final deadline is March 1 of the junior year, unless a student is spending the semester abroad.
Additional requirements for student-designed 主要的s/小s are as follows:
- GPA Requirement. Students proposing a self-designed 主要的/小 must have a minimum GPA of 3.0.
- Number of Courses. A student-designed 主要的 should consist of 12-18 courses. A student-designed 小 should consist of 5-6 courses.
- Interdisciplinarity. A student-designed 主要的/小 must include courses from at least two different disciplines; no more than half of all courses for the 主要的 should be from a single discipline.
- Advanced Courses. At least 6 courses in a student-designed 主要的 and at least 3 courses in a student- designed 小 must be at the advanced level (usually 300-level or above).
- Structure of the Major. Each student-designed 主要的 must include a set of foundational courses; advanced courses that give coherence and depth to the 主要的; and a capstone project, which synthesizes and integrates learning in the 主要的. Generally, the capstone project will be writing-intensive; if this is not feasible (e.g., some projects in the arts), a writing-intensive course must be part of the 主要的.
- “Double Majors/Minors.” For students who will have two 主要的s, a maximum of three courses may be counted toward both fields of study; for students proposing to add a 小, a maximum of two courses may be counted toward both fields of study. In general, if a student has more than one 主要的 and/or 小, these should not be in closely allied fields.
- Transfer Credits. A maximum of three courses not taken at Trinity may be counted towards a self- designed 主要的; for a student-designed 小, a maximum of two courses taken elsewhere can be transferred.
- Advisers. Two faculty members from different disciplines must support the proposal, serve as academic advisers to the student, and agree to oversee the capstone project.
- Honors (主要的s only). 的 two faculty sponsors may decide jointly to award honors to a student in a self-designed 主要的, based on academic performance and the quality of the synthesizing project. All candidates for honors must have at least an A- (3.67) grade point average in all courses taken towards the self-designed 主要的.
Students interested in proposing a self-designed, interdisciplinary 主要的/小 should consult as soon as possible with their current academic adviser and both prospective sponsors of the self-designed 主要的/小. Department chairs and/or program directors of the prospective sponsors will be contacted via e-mail to confirm their support of the proposed student-designed 主要的/小.的 Curriculum Committee reserves the right to limit resubmissions of denied proposals.
的 form for the 主要的 or 小 must be completed and submitted electronically to the Curriculum Committee.
Read about Virginia Fabbri Butera ’73 who received an Interdisciplinary B.A. in Renaissance studies (courses included Italian, French, and English art; history; literature; and philosophy) who was highlighted in the Spring 2024 Trinity College Reporter.
