Four members of the College of Arts and Sciences’ class of 1997 — unable to fulfill their educational appetites with the University’s existing majors — will graduate this year with an individualized degree.
One of those students, College senior Jennifer Marion, has focused on issues affecting senior citizens’ health.
Since the University does not offer such a major, Marion created her own — Health Care of the Elderly.
She explained that she “knew that [she] wanted to work with the elderly” since first coming to the University.
Marion, who is also a French major, created her health care program using courses in medical sociology, the History and Sociology of Science Department and the Wharton School’s Health Care Management concentration.
Working with the elderly, Marion also took advantage of the independent study option.
Although she found the process of developing and implementing her major difficult, she also considered it rewarding.
“It was very hard,” she said.
“I think I talked to 90 percent of the people in health care in this school.”
Marion explained that when she first began looking into developing an individualized major, Assistant College Dean Norma Kahn directed her to faculty members who could assist her.
But from then on, Marion noted that she took the initiative of creating the major, adding that other students individualizing their degrees must do the same.
College senior Matthew Kapuchinski created his individualized major — Music as Art and Commodity — because he “wanted to study the creative side of music as well as obtain a business background in marketing and management.”
Kapuchinski’s major consists of courses in music theory in the College and Management and Marketing courses in Wharton.
Kapuchinski — who is also a Music major — noted that finding a Wharton advisor was difficult because “if you’re not in the school, most professors won’t give you the time of day.
“All in all the major was a good idea, but there’s a lot of red tape to go through that was discouraging at times,” he added.
Two other seniors will graduate from the College with an individualized major.
English major and Urban Studies minor Linda Min created an Asian American Studies major, and Anita Nicholson, an English major and Afro-American Studies and Math minor, developed a Computer Science major in the College.
Although only four students in the class of 1997 actually completed individualized majors, Kahn stressed that many many others had expressed interest in the option.
Students considering such degrees must have a minimum 3.0 grade point average and are encouraged to first pursue existing majors or a combination of a major and a minor to see if they can find what they are looking for within the existing curriculum.
Although most students discover that the preexisting majors do provide what they are looking for, some students ultimately decide to pursue individualized degrees nonetheless.
And Kahn emphasized that the College encourages individualized majors for students who cannot fulfill their interest with an existing major.
To attain an individualized major, students research classes offered at the University and other local schools, deciding which courses are appropriate for their interest.
They then draft a proposal about their major and find two faculty members willing to serve as major advisors.
The proposal must include 14 course units to fulfill the major, often including an independent study.
After proposals have been completed, they go before a Committee on Individualized Study.
The CIS, which also oversees independent study options, approves most individualized degree proposals because the process is fairly self-selective, Kahn explained.
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