Self-Designed Majors

Transylvania allows highly motivated students to work with faculty members, the dean, and the registrar to design a major or minor that fits the student’s specific academic and career interests.

Students may propose a self-designed major that addresses an area of special interest that cannot be met by another major offered at Transylvania University. The self-designed major proposal must incorporate courses from two or more programs. It must be a clearly integrated series of courses that include depth as well as breadth in a unifying focus or concentration.

The student must make a case for the self-designed major having significant scholarly focus comparable to other majors at Transylvania University. Designing a major with a more specialized set of courses within a single existing program is not acceptable. Each self-designed major is supervised by an advisory committee of three faculty members or two faculty members and the dean of the university. The major proposal should be thorough, detailed and well-argued. It must clearly articulate a compelling rationale for the major as a whole and should indicate how each proposed course fits into the overall plan of study. A list of all included courses, their program affiliation and course numbers should be included with the proposal.

Self-designed major proposals should be submitted to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs by May 1 of the student’s sophomore year at Transylvania University. Self-designed majors are under the supervision of the associate dean.

For more information: http://www.transy.edu/academics/programs/self-designed-majors