Design your own major
Individualized Studies at MUM
The Individualized Studies program is an interdisciplinary program in which you design your own major related to a central theme, and to the Science of Creative Intelligence and/or Maharishi Vedic Science.
This major is not for everyone. It requires substantial commitment and reflection. The reward is a major crafted to your own interests and passions.
The First Step
An Individualized Studies major must be proposed by the student and approved by MUM’s Curriculum Committee, according to the following standards. Students will complete an application showing how they meet these standards.
Length
Students will be asked with the consultation of two faculty to design a major of at least 48 semester hours, with at least one concentration of at least 16 hours taken from one major. Approximately half of the courses should be at the 300 level or above. Only two directed studies are permitted over and above the capstone project described below.
Supervision
Students may propose an individual major on any subject matter that permits coherent, in-depth study using resources available through the University, and that does not duplicate an existing program.
Two faculty from different departments must read and approve the proposal and agree to advise the student throughout the plan. One of the faculty should be from the concentration, and both should agree to read and evaluate the final project.
If there is no one on University faculty with sufficient expertise in the proposed major, students will need to find someone with recognized expertise in this field to be a third reader of the final project.
Foresight
Students’ proposals must be approved by the Curriculum Committee after at least 20 hours of the general education requirements are met and before half of the proposed major courses have been taken. Applicants should have a “B” average in their general education requirements.
Coherence
The plan must be organized around a central theme and substantial enough in content to meet the aims of college study. It should also have a theme from the Science of Creative Intelligence and/or Maharishi Vedic Science connecting the interdisciplinary theme to life as a whole.
Range of Knowledge
The plan should provide for (a) a foundation of skills, concepts, and methods appropriate to the proposed area of study; (b) an opportunity to become familiar with what others are currently doing in the field; (c) a planned opportunity to apply one’s knowledge and skills to real world problems and issues; and (d) a foundation in the field of Maharishi Vedic Science.
Capstone Project
The major will include an integrative project to be completed in a two-block capstone course pursued at the end of the plan.
The project is a sustained, focused exploration of a selected topic supported by your plan, using methods appropriate to your subject, and permitting reflection on and creative use of material encountered earlier in students’ studies.
The project may take any form, including, for example, laboratory, field, or other empirical research; a substantial essay or research paper; a performance, panel, or public presentation; a community program; a web site, or some other form that you choose.
Projects in all formats must be supported by appropriate independent research and a bibliography of works cited. They must include a section relating the project to the Science of Creative Intelligence and/or Maharishi Vedic Science.
All performance and media projects must include a written rationale, criteria for evaluation, and a self-evaluation at the end according to the criteria.
Digital Portfolio
When students’ major is approved, they will create and maintain a web portfolio through TaskStream's Learning Achievement Tools (LAT) (at a cost of $69 for two years) or similar web portfolio manager that allows them to share their work with their professors and to reflect on their progress. The portfolio should include a major project, paper, or exam from each of their courses, together with each professor’s evaluation of the work, so that later professors can see previous work and evaluations.
The portfolio should include a brief (500-750 word) reflection on their work for every semester they are in the program.
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