The University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters (CASL) has launched a new program this fall for undergraduate students interested in a customized learning experience.
The Individual Program of Study (IPS) is designed for motivated students who are interested in a specialized area of study not currently offered as a major by the college. Students will work with a faculty member to design a bachelor’s degree that meets their needs and the university’s general education requirements for graduation.
The new program will enable CASL to meet students’ needs and interests by tapping into the college’s existing resources.
“For students who are inclined to customize their learning—to take courses from multiple programs or disciplines—this gives them a vehicle to do so,” said Camron Amin, a history professor who helped launch the program. “Students work with faculty to organize a bachelor’s degree that is meaningful to them and that provides the proper credentials for the next step in their careers or education.”
Amin said the program is ideal for multidisciplinary students, including those students who are interested in a specific subset of a broader degree topic—for instance, students who want to pursue studies in Middle Eastern history instead of history.
The program is part of a national trend that has seen universities develop a range of interdisciplinary degree options. The Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics reported a 74 percent increase in institutions granting these types of degrees from 2003 to 2013.
CASL Dean Martin Hershock said the college recommends an interdisciplinary curriculum for IPS students because of the broad range of knowledge and skills developed.
“IPS is a very powerful option now available to our students. Not only does it enable students the opportunity to create a degree program that speaks to their individual interests, it also will serve students particularly well in the world beyond UM-Dearborn,” Hershock said. “Pursuing this degree demonstrates that a student is a problem solver, that they are not afraid of uncertainty and innovation, and, because the program is interdisciplinary, it provides students with a wide array of tools and perspectives to bring to bear on the complicated real-world problems they will be asked to solve.”
Students interested in the program must complete 30 hours of study with a 3.25 GPA before working with a tenure-track faculty member to create a proposed program. Once approved, the student will work with the faculty member to ensure all degree requirements are met.
