Upcoming Deadline!
To ensure that your proposal is considered this semester, you must submit it to the Curriculum Committee no later than 1 October!
This means you must confer with the SDM Coordinator at least a week before that—ideally by mid-September.
Contact information
Dr. Ruth Feingold
Assistant Dean of the Core Curriculum and Academic Advising
Glendening Hall 234
240-895-4388
rpfeingold@smcm.edu
Allison Minor combined coursework in Religious Studies, Political Science, and Arabic language — along with a year studying in Morocco —for her major in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.
What is a Student-Designed Major?
The Student-Designed Major must be a coherent program of study that crosses disciplinary lines by combining courses from at least three disciplines (defined for this purpose as courses beginning with different alphabetic prefixes, such as Econ or Engl). One of these "disciplines" can be a recognized Cross Disciplinary Study Area. One of the major disciplines must be chosen as a "primary" discipline to provide a coherent focus for the major; likewise, a St. Mary's Project is a required part of the major, so that the student may tie together his or her ideas at the end of the program of study.
Any Student-Designed Major should adhere to the same principles of breadth, depth, and liberal arts-centered inquiry that the faculty has established for existing majors. Some students design majors that are aligned with existing cross-disciplinary study areas at the college (Environmental Studies; Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, etc.). Others put together proposals for majors in areas such as Medieval Studies, Geography, Linguistics, or International Relations. Whatever the topic, though, it is important that the major be consistent with the educational philosophy of St. Mary's, and be supported by coursework available at the college. For these reasons, many forms of pre-professional study (engineering, business, wildlife rehabilitation, etc.) are not appropriate for the Student-Designed Major.
