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SKIDMORE PHONE
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Self-Determined Major
A qualified student (3.0 GPA or better) may propose a major curriculum
other than one among the current list of majors at Skidmore. The
self-determined major is neither a double major nor an
interdepartmental major. Rather, it reflects the integration of more
than one discipline toward the attainment of a clearly developed and
coherent course of study. In recent years, self-determined majors have
included such areas such as ethnomusicology, film studies, arts
administration, poetry: a philosophy of language, and the physics of
sound and recording. The degree program must contain a core of not
fewer than ten courses pertinent to the student's central interest,
one of these being an independent study project that integrates this
core of courses, or a senior seminar or colloquium in which a main
project achieves the same goal. Self-determined majors must meet the
all-college requirements, including the maturity-level requirement.
The student proposes a course of study to the Subcommittee on
Self-Determined Majors through the chair of the subcommittee.
Normally, a student will apply during the spring of the sophomore
year. A self-determined-major proposal must be submitted no later than
October 15 of the junior year or its equivalent.
Students seeking departmental honors at graduation must submit their
final project to the subcommittee for evaluation. There are two
conditions for giving a final project honors:
the advisors assess it to be excellent and of honors caliber; and
the Self-Determined Majors Subcommittee, based on the
advisors' assessments and its members' judgments, deems it worthy of
honors. In instances when the subcommittee is not sufficiently
knowledgeable about the subject of a final project to assess it, a
faculty member knowledgeable in the subject will advise them.
Students seeking Honors in SDM must present their final projects in a
public forum in the Spring of their Senior Year.
Detailed procedures for establishing a self-determined major may be
obtained from the Office of the Dean of Studies or from the chair of
the subcommittee.
