Contact
Program Director
Current Chair of Educational Policy Committee
Degree Offered
Bachelor of Arts in Individualized Studies
Students whose intellectual and professional goals are not achieved within the boundaries of existing majors are encouraged to design, with the help of two or more faculty sponsors, an interdisciplinary degree program in Individualized Studies with the area(s) of specialization chosen by the student and reflected on the student’s transcript. One full-time faculty member must be identified as the chief sponsor.
The Individualized Studies major is a proactive degree for the highly motivated student whereby the student and faculty sponsor design a program and obtain approval from the Educational Policy Committee (EPC). Before submitting a proposal for this major, the student is advised to explore the possibility of pursuing a double major and to acquaint him or herself with existing majors and minors that can fulfill his or her goals. To help ensure completion of the Bachelor of Arts in Individualized Studies in a timely manner, the completed proposal must be submitted as early in the student’s undergraduate career as possible and in no case later than the second semester of the third year of undergraduate study or its equivalent. Any student interested in pursuing a BA in Individualized Studies degree should meet with the Chairperson of the EPC to discuss the Individualized Studies major and review the required forms. Refer to the website for the BAIS template and for important information on deadlines and procedures, both of which are also available upon request from the Office of the Registrar.
1. Major
- Minimum 42 credit hours in the major (involving two or more unrelated disciplines).
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- 24 credit hours (minimum) in upper-level coursework (300-400 level).
- IND443 Senior Project (ILIT; RP; WI) or an equivalent capstone course offered in any of the College’s academic departments is required for completion of the program. This project must meet the criteria required for all Research and Presentation (RP) courses.
- Credit hours in the major may be selected from regular course offerings, approved study abroad experiences, field experience (including field experiences coordinated through our Career Services and Service Learning departments, as well as field experiences/practica sponsored by academic departments), and pre-approved (by appropriate Daemen faculty) course work at other institutions.
- The major may include up to 12 credit hours of Independent Study/Research and 21 credit hours of transfer credit hours.
2. General Education Curriculum
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- First Year Seminar (3)
- Learning Communities (6)
- Depth- Discovery (9)
- Breadth- Exploration:
- Natural Sciences and Mathematics:
- Choose two courses from: Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Science, Math and Physics (6)
- Social Science:
- Choose two courses from: Anthropology, Economics, History, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology (6)
- Humanities:
- Choose two courses from: Art, English, Language (French or Spanish), Music, Philosophy, Religion, and Theater. (6)
- Natural Sciences and Mathematics:
FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
Students must complete 6 credits of a foreign language at any level. The requirement may be satisfied through the completion of college-level coursework or the successful completion of a proficiency examination. A complete description of the requirement is available in the Foreign Language section of the Daemen catalog.
3. Free Electives
- The number of Free Electives in the program is dependent upon the number of credit hours included in the major, i.e., if 42 credits are required in the major, 42 credits will be taken in Free Electives. Should the credits required in the major exceed 42, the number of Free Electives required will be decreased proportionately.
- Courses used to fulfill the free electives may but are not required to have a competency.