Student Designed Major

A student-designed major can be a great way to build bridges between disciplines

Student Designed Major / Getting Started

Getting Started

A Student-Designed Major should begin with conversation. Any student interested in an SDM should start by discussing it with their academic advisor or a faculty member with expertise in the SDM topic or an area related to the topic. They may also contact faculty who chair/coordinate programs that will be contribute to the major.

Students who want general information about the SDM process, or who have an idea for a major but are uncertain as to which faculty might be appropriate advisors for the major, should contact the Associate Dean of Curriculum.

At any of these meetings, students should be prepared to:

  • Discuss the topic of their SDM and why they are interested in it;
  • Ask if there are other faculty whose expertise connects them to the major;
  • Refine their approach to the SDM;
  • Begin discussing courses that will contribute to the major.

Is It Right for Me?

Students considering a Student-Designed Major should keep in mind that such majors require students to do extra: what is already determined for you in a traditional major must be created in a Student-Designed Major and formalized in a written proposal. Students designing their own majors, however, do get help: while the student is responsible for writing the SDM proposal, they do so in close consultation with the faculty members who will serve on their advisory committee should the major be approved.

Students should also note that the learning outcomes for a Student-Designed Major must clearly map to the courses included in the major. This means that while a course or set of courses can be repurposed to serve the curricular aims of an SDM, SDMs are ultimately limited in scope by the curricular components available at the College. Students should not expect to be able to design a major at SMCM for which we do not offer the majority of curricular opportunities required for the major to be viable. For example, a student interested in nutrition could design a major that takes up nutrition by studying the biological and cultural processes that shape food choices; they could not, however, design a major narrowly focused on nutrition and food service or agricultural science, as we don’t offer courses in those areas.

Student Eligibility

Students wishing to propose a Student-Designed Major should do so before they have earned 56 credits, whether at St. Mary’s or another institution. For students who enroll at St. Mary’s College as first year students, this means they will need to have their SDM approved before the end of the spring semester of their sophomore year. Transfer students who have accumulated more than 56 credits prior to beginning their coursework at SMCM may still design their own major, but the major must be approved during their first semester at the College.

Any student proposing a Student-Designed Major should be in good academic standing. Students proposing an SDM should have at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA at the time that their proposal is submitted to the CRC for approval. Proposing and managing a Student-Designed Major requires extra time and effort from the student; students with GPAs under 2.5 should concentrate their efforts on improving their academic standing, not designing a major.