Custom-Designed Major BS

Major: Custom-Designed Major
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science (BS)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 180.0
Co-op Options: Three Co-op (Five years); One Co-op (Four years)
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 24.0101
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 11-9199

About the Program

The Custom-Designed Major enables students to pursue an individualized, interdisciplinary course of study at Drexel University not readily available through an existing major, or a combination of existing majors and/or minors. The program is designed for highly motivated students whose academic curiosity and career ambitions cannot be satisfied by a traditional major. Students typically interested in pursuing a Custom-Designed Major are motivated by a particular theme, topic, issue, or problem that can be more holistically addressed by combining multiple disciplines and fields of knowledge.

The major offers students the opportunity for an early intensive research experience, incorporates cooperative education as part of its degree requirements (either four years with one co-op, or five years with three co-ops), and culminates in an original, interdisciplinary senior year project.

Each student accepted into the program will be advised by the program staff and closely mentored during their senior year by one or more Drexel faculty members with expertise in at least one of the disciplines composing the student's proposed course of study. Students may be admitted by internal or external transfer. Incoming first-year students interested in Custom-Designed Major should apply to the First Year Exploratory Studies (FYES) program; for the students entering FYES with Custom-Designed already in mind as their major, part of their time in FYES will be spent formulating their formal application to the major. Current Drexel students seeking a change of major to Custom-Designed must have final applications submitted by Week One of the summer term preceding their junior year, so that they have a minimum of 5 academic terms in the major prior to graduation. Students do not need to be members of the Honors Program to be eligible to apply to the program.

Additional Information

For more information about this program, please visit the Custom-Designed Major webpage.

For additional questions, please contact advisor Charlotte Shreve at cs3859@drexel.edu. 

Admission Requirements

Applicants may apply directly to the Custom-Designed Major (CSDN) as current Drexel students or transfer students. Incoming first-year students interested in Custom-Designed Major should apply to the First Year Exploratory Studies (FYES) program; for the students entering FYES with Custom-Designed already in mind as their major, part of their time in FYES will be spent crafting their formal application to the major. Current Drexel students seeking a change of major to Custom-Designed must have final applications submitted by Week One of the summer term preceding their junior year, so that they have a minimum of 5 academic terms in the major prior to graduation. Please visit the CSDN application webpage for the most up-to-date information about how to apply, application materials, and setting up an introductory meeting to learn more about the program with the CSDN staff. Please note: Students do not need to be members of the Honors Program in order to apply to the major.

Degree Requirements

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Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

**

Any 100-level course and above in the following subjects: AFAS, ARBC, ARTH, CHIN, COM, ENGL, FREN, GER, HBRW, HIST, ITAL, JAPN, JWST, KOR, LING, PHIL, RELS, SPAN, WRIT, or WGST.

***

Any 100-level course and above in the following subjects: HSCI 345, HSCI 350, MATH, or STAT

†

Any 100-level course and above in the following subjects: AE, ANAT, BET, BIO, CAE, CAEE, CHE, CHEM, CI, CIVE, CS, CT, ECE, ECEC, ECEE, ECEP, ECES, EET, EGMT, ENGR, ENSS, ENVE, ENVS, GEO, HSCI, INDE, INFO, MATE, MEM, MET, MHT, NFS, PHEV, PHYS, SE, or SYSE.

††

Any 100-level course and above in the following subjects: AFAS, ANTH, CJS, COM, ECON, GST, LING, PPE, PSCI, PSY, SCTS, SOC, or WGST.

†††

Three 300- or 400-level courses in each discipline comprising a significant component of the custom-designed curriculum. All prerequisite courses for these selected courses must also be satisfied.

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.

Sample Plan of Study

4 year, one co-op in Fall/Winter

*

Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

4 year, one co-op in Spring/Summer

*

Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be schedules in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

5 year, three co-op in Fall/Winter

*

Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

5 year, three co-op in Spring/Summer

*

Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

Co-op and Career Services

Students in the major have the option of two co-op programs: One is a five-year program with three co-op cycles (5COP), and the second option is a four-year program with one co-op cycle (4COP). Students will meet with their career services adviser during their time in the program to closely match career objectives with curriculum design and co-op/research opportunities. To learn more about previous co-op employment opportunities and experiences for Custom-Designed Major students, please visit the Custom-Designed Major and co-op page.

Program Level Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, graduates will be prepared to:

• Demonstrate the ability to think and make connections across disciplinary fields of knowledge
• Demonstrate the ability to apply cross-disciplinary methodologies to research
• Demonstrate applied interdisciplinary problem-solving skills to complex problems
• Demonstrate an understanding of content and methodology of at least three substantive fields of knowledge chosen by the student
• Demonstrate self-directed learning through the development and achievement of a set of learning goals which are appropriate to their self-designed course of study and which were crafted in consultation with CSDN faculty (including faculty mentor) and professional staff
• Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills
• Demonstrate the capacity for self-advocacy
• Demonstrate the requisite skills to develop and execute a long-term project that incorporates the knowledge, methodologies, and design techniques of the fields from which the students draws