Identifying a Theme

For many students, identifying the theme of their Individualized Studies major is the most difficult step. It must, however, be the first step.

In an ideal world, every student who wants to design an Individualized Studies program is doing so because he or she has an idea for an interdisciplinary major. In actual fact, many students turn to Individualized Studies because they have been denied admission to their first choice of major, and want to put together a program that includes some aspects of their first choice. This can be acceptable, and many students have designed programs they found satisfying.

You should understand, however, that majors with competitive admission almost always restrict their upper-division courses to declared majors. This means that you might not be allowed to include their courses in your Individualized Studies program. You should also understand that an Individualized Studies major might not be the fastest route to graduation. If you are in a hurry, it is quite possible that you could complete an existing major in less time than an Individualized Studies program.

Sample Themes

Below are some examples of Individualized Studies themes, and lists of the types of courses that would constitute such majors. In each case, the actual Individualized Studies major proposal would list specific courses, all with content directly related to the theme of the major.

Don't read this as if it were a list of majors to choose from; instead, try to see what we mean by a theme and an associated interdisciplinary group of courses.

Sample Theme	Courses
Medieval Studies	medieval literature, history, philosophy, and art history
Urban Landscape Planning	urban planning, landscape architecture, botany, urban horticulture, geology
International Economics	economics, international studies, geography, political science
Technical Systems Training	mathematics, computer science, history of technology, speech, education
Architectural History	art history, architecture, history
Ethnic Minorities in American Politics	political science, history, sociology, American ethnic studies, Chicano studies, Asian-American studies, Afro-American studies, American Indian studies
Arts Management	art history, drama, music, business management, marketing, business communications

If you still aren't sure what is meant by a theme, you might find it easier to think instead of what you would like to title your major. The title is a concise statement of the theme.

Restrictions

As you debate the feasibility of various possible themes, keep the following in mind:

You must select an area in which the UW offers coursework. There are many majors that can be imagined but cannot be completed at the UW. For example, we do not have enough appropriate coursework to support Individualized Studies majors in physical education/sports/athletics/training, nutrition, or home economics.
While your theme cannot be so narrow that there are only a few courses available, neither can it be so broad that to cover the topic adequately you would have to complete advanced coursework in six or eight departments.
You must design a major with courses you have access to. As mentioned above, many UW departments restrict access to their courses. These restrictions are noted in the Time Schedule. If many of the courses you want to include have time-schedule notations such as "majors only" or require entry codes, you should talk to an Individualized Studies adviser about whether your plan will be feasible. (See information about restricted-access courses to learn more about some frequent problem areas.)
A collection of courses that you think would be useful to you in your intended career is probably not going to be an acceptable major. This is a university, not a vocational school; your Individualized Studies major must have an academic rather than a vocational theme. In other words, you must include courses which emphasize the theory, research methods, and history of a field as well as, if you wish, its practical applications.