Getting it Approved

1. Meet with an Individualized Studies Adviser

Once you have a theme and a draft list of courses, you are ready to meet with an Individualized Studies adviser. The adviser may feel your list is ready to submit to the Individualized Studies committee, or may make suggestions for altering the proposal: adding courses from departments you may not have been aware of, omitting courses with content duplicated by other courses on your list, suggesting alternates for courses with restricted access, and so on. The Individualized Studies adviser may require that you obtain permission for certain restricted-access courses before you submit your proposal.

You must meet with an Individualized Studies adviser before you submit your proposal. Call 206-543-2550 to set up an appointment.

If you are already in contact with any professors in the area of your proposed major, it is recommended that you discuss your proposal with them at this point as well.

2. Write up the final version of your proposal.

Print out the proposal form and follow the instructions. Typing is preferred but not required.

3. Submit your proposal to the Individualized Studies Committee.

Proposals are due on the last Friday of each month; the Individualized Studies Committee meets to consider proposals during the first week of the month. Submit your proposal to the staff at the Gateway Center, 171 Mary Gates Hall.

Within a few days, you'll be notified by email of the decision of the Committee. If the Committee feels that your proposal needs modifications, they will be outlined in the email. If you agree to the modifications, you can rewrite your proposal including the changes and then obtain the signatures of your faculty sponsors (below). You may make an appointment with an Individualized Studies adviser to go over the requested modifications if you have any questions.

You can pick up the original copy of your proposal from the Gateway Center at any time after the committee meeting.

4. Obtain the approval of two faculty sponsors.

After the Individualized Studies Committee approves your proposal, your Individualized Studies proposal must be approved by two faculty sponsors. These sponsors must be from two different departments represented in your major, and for most Individualized Studies programs at least one of the faculty sponsors must be from the College of Arts and Sciences. The sponsors sign the proposal form and provide the information requested there.

Although you are encouraged to consult faculty while designing your major, many students first contact faculty sponsors after the proposal has been approved by the Individualized Studies Committee.

Faculty sponsors must be UW faculty (including senior lecturers and assistant, associate, and full professors), not graduate student teaching assistants or advisers.

It is the role of the faculty sponsors to attest to the intellectual and academic soundness of your proposed major. Your faculty sponsors may require you to change your written proposal, perhaps adding courses. If the changes are substantial and alter the theme of your major, it may be necessary to redraft the major and resubmit it to the Individualized Studies Committee.

You may have difficulty obtaining faculty sponsorship if you have not yet completed any courses in the sponsor's department. Although it is not necessary to have taken a class from a sponsor, most faculty are more willing to sign if they know you and your abilities. If you don't have any faculty sponsors in mind, talk to the undergraduate advisers in the departments represented in your Individualized Studies major. They should be able to suggest professors who are both approachable and interested in the area of your major.

5. Complete a change-of-major form.

When your proposal has been approved by the Individualized Studies Committee and you have obtained the signatures of your faculty sponsors, return the signed proposal form to the Gateway Center. You do not need to make an appointment; just drop it off with the staff at the front counter. One of the Individualized Studies advisers will provide the final signature required on the proposal form, and then a change-of-major form will be completed, changing your major to Individualized Studies. If you are already in another major, please attach a note to let us know whether you plan to keep that major or if you want to drop it.

You must be a declared Individualized Studies major before you can apply to graduate or register for INDIV 493.