Guidelines

The Customized Academic Program (CAP) allows students to combine existing courses to create a personalized, interdisciplinary program in order to pursue an area of interest not currently offered as a Huntington University major. Any student who wants to create a CAP must take the initiative to explore the curriculum to find courses related to their areas of interest, find an academic advisor willing to work with them to sponsor their CAP, and write a proposal for approval as outlined below. Students should submit their applications by the end of their sophomore year.

Guidelines for Constructing Majors

1. Students will satisfy the same core curriculum requirements as students in other majors in the degree program.
2. The CAP major will be significantly different from any existing major. Students must have specific approval to count more than one half of courses required in an existing major toward the requirements of the self-designed major.
3. The self-designed major will use existing college resources.
4. The self-designed major will include no more than nine hours of independent study.
5. Students may include an off-campus semester (CCCU programs or other programs in which we formally participate) in a self-designed major but must include alternate plans in case the student is not able to complete the off-campus semester.
6. Courses that require admission to a program (in education, nursing, and social work, for example) are not available to students in interdisciplinary majors without the specific permission of that department.
7. Each self-designed major will include a culminating experience, either an extended internship or an in-depth thesis or senior project of six to 12 credits.

Structure of the Major

1. The Bachelor of Arts program will consist of 36 to 48 hours from two or more departments.
   1. A culminating internship, thesis, or senior project will be a required component. Formal presentation of the project to an audience will be an expectation.
   2. Students must complete at least 25 hours of upper-division requirements in courses designated in the CAP major.   
2. A Bachelor of Science program will consist of 36 to 66 hours from two or more different disciplines.
   1. A culminating internship, thesis, or senior project will be a required component. Formal presentation of the project to an audience will be an expectation.
   2. Students must complete 30 upper-division hours within the interdisciplinary major.

1. Any student must have a minimum GPA of 2.75 or higher to propose a CAP major.
2. Before he or she may declare a CAP major, a student must complete an application, and the application must be approved. 
   1. The student will write a paragraph on the application describing the major to be included.
   2. The student will propose an individualized name for the major that will be added as a comment on the student transcript.  
   3. The student will articulate the goals and outcomes desired for the major and explain how the proposed program will prepare him or her to reach future goals.
   4. The student will write a sentence explaining how each proposed course enhances the proposed major.
   5. The student will submit a semester-by-semester plan of study showing how and when the course work can be completed.
3. An advisor from one of the departments from which the student plans to take nine or more hours, the registrar, and the Academic Concerns Committee (ACC) must approve the program.  
   1. Each student must find an academic advisor who is willing to sponsor their major. Students may request a particular advisor, but the advisor will have the option of declining.
   2. The academic advisor who is sponsoring the student in completing the major will review and approve the specific plan of study and file it with the Office of the Registrar for approval.
   3. Students must obtain approval from the chairs of each department in which they intend to complete nine or more hours.
   4. If the self-designed major title includes the name of a discipline associated with an HU department, the student must obtain approval from the department chair(s).
   5. The ACC will review and give final approval for each completed major proposal.
   6. Any subsequent changes to the plan of study will require the approval of both the academic advisor and registrar.