A student, working in consultation with a faculty advisor, may formulate an interdisciplinary major that is uniquely tailored to his or her interest. The responsibility for formulating a sound academic program of interdisciplinary study lies with the individual student and the advisor, and the proposed major must be approved by the Committee on Interdisciplinary Studies (CIS). Normally, students pursuing an interdisciplinary major base their program upon a solid understanding of an established discipline, and must include courses from at least three departments, with no more than half of the credit hours from any one department. More than two courses at the introductory level are seldom approved.

Candidates for the B.S. degree must successfully complete, in addition to satisfying the NQR requirement, three additional science courses from departments and programs that offer a B.S. degree. Science-based courses from departments and programs that do not offer a B.S. degree (for example Marine Science) may also fulfill this requirement, at the discretion of the Committee on Interdisciplinary Studies. None of these three additional science courses may be taken on a Pass/Fail basis.

For additional information on Self-Designed majors, please visit the Arts & Sciences web site.