305 Coates Building
Campus Box 3504
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3504
phone: (919) 843-7773
fax: (919) 843-6557

Forms/Instructions: Interdisciplinary Studies Majors

Guidelines for Interdisciplinary Studies majors (self-created)

  1. Get acquainted with the rules governing the Interdisciplinary Studies major—number of courses, minimum GPA, etc. (see Undergraduate Bulletin.)
     
  2. Articulate on paper a clear rationale for the intended course of study, and be prepared to explain why the intellectual interests of the student cannot be served within existing degree programs. Remember that majors in the College should not be construed as narrowly vocational.
     
  3. Create a name for your major and plan a tentative course itinerary for the junior and senior years. Have alternative courses in mind.
     
  4. Schedule a preliminary consultation with the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Curricula.
     
  5. If encouraged by the Associate Dean, consult with the directors of undergraduate studies in all the affected departments/schools to make sure that the courses selected for the proposed major will be offered in a regular or timely fashion; have the DUS sign a statement attesting this. 
     
  6. Identify a faculty sponsor from one of the departments with courses in the proposed major and secure from that sponsor a written statement endorsing the feasibility and rationale of the proposed course of study.
     
  7. Submit the major proposal—including the rationale, the schedule of courses, DUS signatures, and the statement from the faculty sponsor—to the Office of Undergraduate Curricula by the applicable semester deadlines: September 15 for fall, January 15 for spring. 

The Associate Dean for Undergraduate Curricula, in consultation with a specially created advisory board, will render decisions on the viability and acceptability of the proposed major before the registration period for the upcoming semester (i. e., early October, early March). If accepted, the proposal will be reshaped into a “learning contract” to be signed by the student and the Associate Dean. Any subsequent modifications to the contract must be approved by the Associate Dean.