Macalester/Individually Designed Interdepartmental Major
from the Macalester Public Knowledge Base
"An individually designed interdepartmental major (IDIM), reflecting a disciplined area of inquiry crossing departmental lines, may be designed and submitted for approval to the Educational Policy and Governance Committee acting on behalf of the faculty. The provision for an IDIM—as one of the ways in which a student may satisfy the graduation requirement of a major—is to accommodate students with special educational goals which may be achieved within the College's overall curriculum but not through any of the existing majors or interdepartmental majors (see 1 and 2 immediately above) set forth in detail elsewhere in this catalog. To take advantage of this provision, students are expected to design their program of study in advance of doing the bulk of the course work for it.
"Students seeking an individually-designed interdepartmental major (IDIM) must present, not later than the beginning of the registration period for the first semester of their junior year, a completed proposal, signed by the student and three faculty members, to the IDIM Subcommittee of the Educational Policy and Governance Committee for consideration. In consultation with three faculty members of the student's choosing, the student must design a program of courses of study which crosses departmental lines and, in doing so, represents a disciplined area of inquiry not conveniently possible within the provisions of any of the existing majors in the College's curriculum. The proposal must include the following: 1) A list of courses to be taken to complete the IDIM. This list must include a minimum of forty-four semester credits in courses from a maximum of three departments, and may include up to twenty-four additional semester credits in courses (for a maximum of sixty-eight semester credits) from any relevant department. There must be evidence of progression in the proposed courses. One way to show progression is to use courses that have one or more prerequisites. 2) Letters of support from the three faculty who comprise the student's IDIM committee (a coordinator and two sponsors). These committee members must be from departments that offer courses listed on the student's proposal. Two letters of recommendation must be from faculty members who have had the student in class, who may or may not be members of the student's IDIM committee. 3) A carefully prepared written rationale. In this rationale the student is expected to describe the focus and cohesiveness of all the courses of study included in the IDIM and to indicate how this program of study meets the student's particular educational goals. The IDIM committee will also designate the appropriate means for the completion of the senior capstone requirement within the IDIM. The committee will meet with the student at least once every semester to discuss the student's progress towards completion of the IDIM.
"No proposal for an IDIM will be accepted by the Subcommittee after a student has validated his or her registration for the first semester of the junior year.
"Students who wish to undertake an Honors project should work with their IDIM committee to describe the procedures to be followed as well as the type of project to be completed for an Honors project. This information should be included in the original proposal for the IDIM and will be examined as part of the review of the IDIM proposal."
--from the 2005-2006 Macalester College Catalog
