Individualized Major: Examples of Individualized Majors

Although many self-designed majors differ only slightly from the established majors at the College, others may diverge significantly from those more typically offered at BC. Generally, we can help students design individualized majors in most disciplines within the arts, humanities, and social sciences because we have a variety of community faculty with strong backgrounds in those areas. Students wishing to major in the natural sciences, engineering, or business would be better served at colleges and universities with strong programs in those areas.

The following is a listing of some of the self-designed majors that students have pursued in the past 20 years:

Anthropology
Arts and Social Change
Children’s Literature
Comparative Religion
Communications
Contemporary Spirituality
Cultural Studies
Documentary and Media Studies
Education and Technology
Environmental Studies
History
Holistic Studies
Literature
Philosophy
Photography
Social Ecology
Transpersonal Studies/Writing
Writing and Film

No matter how a student goes about pursuing his/her study, whether it be through Burlington College’s Independent Degree Program, the campus-based program, or a combination of the two, the faculty advisor will work with the student to develop a sound, rigorous program that meets both the needs of the student and the academic requirements of the College.