Developing a proposal for an Integrative Studies major takes some time, and involves web research and some conversations with faculty. There are three main components of the application: the proposal form, a course list, and an email from your Faculty Mentor.
Be prepared to spend about 8 weeks developing an application; getting started early and sticking with it are key to submitting proposals for final review by members of the Integrative Studies Advisory Board. Developing a system and regular habits for preparing your application will be helpful. Most students meet with the Integrative Studies Coordinator at least weekly until the application is complete.
First step:
Meet with the Integrative Studies Coordinator.
This initial conversation will help you understand the parameters of developing an effective and feasible plan, and whether there might be other approaches for you to meet your goals, such as by combining existing majors and minors at the College.
Next steps include:
••Researching majors at other colleges.
Investigate majors offered at other colleges that are similar to the program of study you are interested in pursuing. Existing majors at other institutions can serve as models.
••Reviewing Homer to see recent 'Courses Offered' – and department web sites.
Homer course schedules for recent semesters provide information about courses offered by each department, and department web sites often have additional information about special courses. This research will help you to prepare the course list (see the Application Process section, below) that will need to accompany your proposal.
IF needed (as determined by coordinator): Meeting with faculty in the areas you want to include in your plan.
If you don’t know faculty in these areas yet, the Integrative Studies Coordinator can help you figure out who to contact.
During this process, you must also work to identify a faculty member who can serve as a Faculty Mentor for your plan. Your mentor should be in your chosen interest -- a music professor or an anatomy professor or a business professor, for example. The mentor should be someone you can get career/course advice from, whom you trust, and who could give you help during your time in the major (if needed).
If needed: Contacting the Center for Career Exploration and Development.
They have a wealth of information on careers and alumni networks. If graduate school is on your radar, talk with your faculty mentor about those plans.
Final Steps to Approval
1) A draft of your complete application package is provided to the H & S Associate Dean for preliminary review.
2) Once the Associate Dean has affirmed that the proposal is ready for final review, your proposal is submitted to relevant members of the Integrative Studies Advisory Board for a recommendation for final approval by the Associate Dean. Additional revisions may be requested after this review.
3) After approval by the Advisory Board, including any revisions requested, the Coordinator then circulates your course list to chairs and deans of departments represented in your course list. Chairs and deans may, at this stage, request changes in your proposed course list, based on availability of courses.
4) Once these approvals are confirmed, the Associate Dean will officially sign off on your proposal, and notify you via email. You will then need to submit a Change of Major form; once approved, you become an official Integrative Studies Major. (The Coordinator is your major advisor.)