2008 Woodie Awards
Few students create own majors
Just three students each year complete the rigorous process for Interdisciplinary Studies
Issue date: 3/27/08
With 35 choices of possible majors, it might seem as though there are plenty of options to choose from. But for certain students with a wide range of interests, confining their course of study primarily to one discipline may not be the best fit. The Krieger School of Arts and Sciences offers a handful of undergraduates a lesser known 36th option: Interdisciplinary Studies, otherwise known as "Create Your Own Major."
Michael Winnet, a junior, said that he averaged a 2.0 GPA as a chemical engineering major. The first semester after he created his own major, he made Dean's List.
"I hated engineering, so I never went to class aside from test days and the day they hand out the syllabus. I had no passion for what I was studying," he said.
Winnet took a year off after his sophomore year and reevaluated what he wanted to study. When he returned to Hopkins, he immediately switched into the Krieger School and began scouting classes that better suited his interests.
"I wanted to pick classes from everything - from all different departments, from philosophy, religion, anthropology," Winnet said.
Interdisciplinary Studies came up as a compromise between creative freedom and structure. According to Dean John Bader, the program creates a rigorous, defensive framework through which students can pursue an idea or theme in partnership with faculty member.
As an alternative to a more traditional major, it is appealing to students who find who their academic interests don't fit the requirements of a traditional major. While many undergraduates would jump at the chance to hand-pick their courses and dodge requirements, the process is rigorous - approximately half of all proposed majors get approved, according to Bader, making an average of three approved majors per year.
Bader said he introduced Interdisciplinary Studies to the Krieger School four years ago, after the Social and Behavioral Areas Studies major and the Humanities Areas Studies major were deemed unsuitable.
Michael Winnet, a junior, said that he averaged a 2.0 GPA as a chemical engineering major. The first semester after he created his own major, he made Dean's List.
"I hated engineering, so I never went to class aside from test days and the day they hand out the syllabus. I had no passion for what I was studying," he said.
Winnet took a year off after his sophomore year and reevaluated what he wanted to study. When he returned to Hopkins, he immediately switched into the Krieger School and began scouting classes that better suited his interests.
"I wanted to pick classes from everything - from all different departments, from philosophy, religion, anthropology," Winnet said.
Interdisciplinary Studies came up as a compromise between creative freedom and structure. According to Dean John Bader, the program creates a rigorous, defensive framework through which students can pursue an idea or theme in partnership with faculty member.
As an alternative to a more traditional major, it is appealing to students who find who their academic interests don't fit the requirements of a traditional major. While many undergraduates would jump at the chance to hand-pick their courses and dodge requirements, the process is rigorous - approximately half of all proposed majors get approved, according to Bader, making an average of three approved majors per year.
Bader said he introduced Interdisciplinary Studies to the Krieger School four years ago, after the Social and Behavioral Areas Studies major and the Humanities Areas Studies major were deemed unsuitable.
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