Interdisciplinary Studies (BA, BS)

For more information about the Interdisciplinary Studies programs, see the Degree Options section of this catalog.

The Interdisciplinary Major

For students choosing to study in a broader area than is afforded by a conventional major field, the University offers the opportunity of designing an interdisciplinary major with courses chosen from two or three disciplines. Courses should constitute a coherent, integrated course of study. Courses are selected with a view to preparing the student for a senior project or thesis directed towards a specific interdisciplinary problem. The major consists of a core of upper division units, customarily 18 in one discipline, with additional upper division units such that the whole totals 35-45 units.

The student, when registering for the Junior year, initiates the process by obtaining the Interdisciplinary Contract Major Forms from the Academic Affairs Office or the Academic Advising & Achievement Center.

The student, with a faculty representative within each of the chosen disciplines, designs a program of courses to fit his/her own goals and writes a contract describing the program. The signed contract must be filed in the Registrar’s Office before the beginning of the second semester of the Junior year.* The student completes a senior project or thesis under the direction of a faculty advisor.

*The Interdisciplinary Major is not recommended for students transferring to Dominican as second semester Juniors, as this degree track requires the equivalent of four semesters of full time coursework for completion. However, students transferring in with an AA Degree may have this option, as significant work in one discipline will have begun already.