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Concentration - Individualized Studies

(also see Liberal Studies)

This concentration option allows students to combine professional studies with the liberal arts and sciences or a second professional studies area into a cohesive course of study. The Individualized Studies concentration is not meant to serve merely as a convenient repository for a collection of assorted credits.It provides the opportunity to integrate a broad range of accumulated knowledge and new learning into an interdisciplinary program which will meet an individual's career and/or personal needs. Students who anticipate pursuing graduate studies upon completion of the baccalaureate degree should incorporate the necessary prerequisites into the concentration. For example, a course in research methods is frequently such a prerequisite.

The key to receiving approval for this concentration is the student's ability to explain the rationale for the proposed concentration and its relation to his/her career and/or personal goals. The rationale is key to laying the foundation for the capstone requirement.

The number of credits and distribution by level consists of a minimum of 36 credits with a minimum of 18 at the upper level. The 18 upper level credits must represent a logical distribution from various disciplines in the concentration. The concentration needs to show breadth and depth in each subject area chosen. Some sample combinations are:

  • Psychology/Legal Studies
  • Journalism/Literature
  • Environmental Science/Biology
  • Business/Political Science
  • Political Science/Legal Studies
  • Biotechnology/Business
  • Business/Communications
  • Nursing/Communications/Business
Notes:Only grades of C of higher may be included in the concentration. The upper division credits needed in a computer-related concentration, including the Individualized Studies concentration, must be less than seven (7) years old at the time of matriculation unless the student is employed in the computer field or has been actively pursuing formal or informal studies in the computer field. However, older courses may be used as free electives in the overall degree program

Student Learning Outcomes

Students who graduate with a concentration in Individualized Studies will be able to:
  1. demonstrate factual and conceptual knowledge in each of the linked fields;
  2. demonstrate the interrelationship and coherence of the linked fields by integrating such knowledge from each of them;
  3. apply such integrated knowledge to scholarly and/or policy questions and problems;
  4. demonstrate the ability to think critically and construct an argument in the fields studied; and
  5. engage in effective written communication and presentation of ideas/concepts specific to the fields studied.