Program Overview

---

Introduction to the Individualized Program of Studies

The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of NebraskaLincoln offers an Individualized Program of Studies (IPS) that allows students to design their own academic major or minor. This program is designed for students who have a special educational interest or objective that is not represented by the established majors or minors offered by the College.

Description of the Individualized Program of Studies

The IPS program enables students to pursue a unique educational interest or objective by creating a customized major or minor. Students work with a faculty sponsor to plan and coordinate their program, which must be approved by the College Curriculum and Advising Committee. The program must include a title, description, and justification, and must meet all University and College degree requirements.

Procedure for Creating an Individualized Program of Studies

To create an IPS, students must:

• Find a faculty sponsor from a core department in the College of Arts and Sciences
• Work with the faculty sponsor to plan and coordinate the program
• Submit a proposal, including a title, description, and justification, to the Sr. Director of Student Academic and Career Development
• Obtain approval from the College Curriculum and Advising Committee before completing 90 of the 120 applicable hours toward the degree

Using the Individualized Program of Study for Degree Completion

The IPS program can be used by students with prior college credits who are looking to return and finish their bachelor's degree. Students can take classes on campus or online, using a flexible degree path that meets all ACE, College Distribution, and graduation requirements.

Academic and Career Advising

The College of Arts and Sciences provides academic and career advising to support students in their academic and professional pursuits. The Academic and Career Advising Center offers guidance on choosing a major, career coaching, and help with degree planning.

Academic and Career Advising Center

The Advising Center team is available to help students with:

• Choosing or changing their major, minor, or degree program
• Checking on policies, procedures, and deadlines
• Getting a college approval signature from the Dean's representatives

Assigned Academic Advisors

Every CAS student is assigned an academic advisor based on their primary major. Academic advisors work closely with faculty to provide support and discipline-specific expertise.

Career Coaching

CAS Career Coaches are available to help students explore career options, identify ways to build experience, and prepare to apply for internships, jobs, or graduate school.

ACE Requirements

Students must complete one course for each of the ACE Student Learning Outcomes, which include:

• ACE 1: Write texts, in various forms, with an identified purpose, that respond to specific audience needs, integrate research or existing knowledge, and use applicable documentation and appropriate conventions of format and structure
• ACE 2: Demonstrate competence in communication skills
• ACE 3: Use mathematical, computational, statistical, logical, or other formal reasoning to solve problems, draw inferences, justify conclusions, and determine reasonableness
• ACE 4: Use scientific methods and knowledge to pose questions, frame hypotheses, interpret data, and evaluate whether conclusions about the natural and physical world are reasonable
• ACE 5: Use knowledge, historical perspectives, analysis, interpretation, critical evaluation, and the standards of evidence appropriate to the humanities to address problems and issues
• ACE 6: Use knowledge, theories, and research perspectives such as statistical methods or observational accounts appropriate to the social sciences to understand and evaluate social systems or human behaviors
• ACE 7: Use knowledge, theories, or methods appropriate to the arts to understand their context and significance
• ACE 8: Use knowledge, theories, and analysis to explain ethical principles and their importance in society
• ACE 9: Exhibit global awareness or knowledge of human diversity through analysis of an issue
• ACE 10: Generate a creative or scholarly product that requires broad knowledge, appropriate technical proficiency, information collection, synthesis, interpretation, presentation, and reflection

College Degree Requirements

The College of Arts and Sciences has several degree requirements, including:

• College Distribution Requirements: designed to ensure a range of courses across disciplines within the College
• Language Requirement: proficiency through 4 levels for BA students, or 2 levels for BS students
• Experiential Learning Requirement: completion of an Experiential Learning (EL) designated course
• Minimum Hours Required for Graduation: 120 semester hours of credit
• Grade Rules: restrictions on C- and D grades, Pass/No Pass privilege, and grading appeals
• Course Level Requirements: 30 hours of courses numbered at the 300 or 400 level, with 15 hours completed in residence at UNL
• Residency Requirement: completion of at least 30 of the 120 total hours for their degree at UNL

Catalog to Use

Students must fulfill the requirements stated in the catalog for the academic year in which they are first admitted to and enrolled as a degree-seeking student at UNL. Students may choose to follow a subsequent catalog for any academic year in which they are admitted to and enrolled as a degree-seeking student at UNL.

Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Individualized Program of Studies will be able to:

1. Comprehend and critically evaluate complex information
2. Examine problems from multiple perspectives
3. Communicate clearly using different forms of writing to and for a variety of different audiences
4. Analyze and explain data
5. Develop and defend evidence-based arguments
6. Evaluate the inter-relatedness of events and ideas
7. Contextualize political, social, and historical events
8. Discuss complex issues from multiple angles
9. Make decisions carefully, using appropriate theoretical frameworks

Major Requirements

The Individualized Program of Studies major requires:

• Selection of at least 48 hours of courses from at least two departments in the College of Arts and Sciences
• A Core Department: at least 15 of the 48 or more hours must be in the College of Arts and Sciences department of the faculty sponsor
• At least half of the 48 hours (24 hours) must be from departments in the College of Arts and Sciences
• The Program must be approved by the College Curriculum and Advising Committee before the student completes 90 of the 120 applicable hours toward the degree

Additional Major Requirements

• Grade Rules: a grade of C or above is required for all courses in the major
• Pass/No Pass: a maximum of 6 hours of Pass/No Pass credit will be counted toward the major

Requirements for Minor Offered by Department

The Individualized Program of Studies minor requires:

• Selection of at least 24 hours of courses from at least two departments from the College of Arts and Sciences
• A Core Department: at least 9 of the 24 or more hours must be in the College of Arts and Sciences department of the faculty sponsor
• At least half of the 24 hours (12 hours) must be from the College of Arts and Sciences
• The Program must be approved by the College Curriculum and Advising Committee before the student completes 90 of the 120 applicable hours toward the degree

Grade Rules for Minor

• C- and D Grades: a grade of C or above is required for all courses in the minor
• Pass/No Pass: a maximum of 6 hours of Pass/No Pass credit will be counted toward the minor