Program Overview
Undergraduate Academic Engagement
Contact: ISSDBA@unco.edu
Location: Michener L98
Telephone: 970-351-2940
Website: www.unco.edu/programs/interdisciplinary-studies-ba/
Advising Information:
Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.
To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.
The program consists of three parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- University-Wide Credits
Program Description
The Interdisciplinary Studies: Student Designed Bachelor of Arts degree enables undergraduate students to pursue an interdisciplinary program of study they design in substitution for the traditional major. Each student pursuing this major works with at least two faculty advisors who assist in constructing a program of study that will meet the student's individual interests and needs.
Graduates benefit by pursuing a major that develops awareness of the interrelatedness and wholeness of knowledge. This program enables students to integrate knowledge focusing on both contemporary and lasting human issues and problems and provides the groundwork for students who aspire to careers that are enriched by study in two or more disciplines. Students develop both theoretical and practical approaches to topics.
Program Admission Requirements:
Students desiring to enter the program should contact the Division of Academic Engagement receive a copy of the application and receive initial advising about steps to develop an individualized plan of study. No more than 15 credits of completed coursework may be included in the proposed plan of study. Plans must be endorsed by faculty advisors in two different disciplines and approved by the Schulze Chair of Honors & Interdisciplinary Studies and the Undergraduate Council before the student can be officially accepted in the major.
Program Requirements:
- At least 50 percent of the coursework taken to complete the major must be upper division courses (300-400 level).
- Plans must include at least 12 credits each from two separate disciplines. Faculty advisors who endorse the proposal must be from these two disciplines.
- At least 45 of the 60 credit hours included on the individualized plan of study must be completed after the proposal has been approved.
Degree Requirements
1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits
Written Communication — 6 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Written Communication courses
Mathematics — 3 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Mathematics courses
Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS], and International Studies [IS] — 15 credits
To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses
Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. Required Major — 60 credits
Take all of the following:
- XXXX 422 Directed Studies (3) (Must be a Thesis or Final Project)
- Must have a regular departmental prefix allowing at least one of the primary advisors to serve as supervising faculty.
- Complete an approved, coherent multi- or interdisciplinary program of courses to total 57 credits.
- At least 27 credits must be at the 300 level or above.
- No more than 15 credits may have been completed prior to the semester in which the plan is approved.
3. University-Wide Credits — 29 credits
Complete additional credits to achieve the minimum credits needed for this degree at UNC; for this degree, that will typically be 29 credits.