Program Overview

Custom-Designed Major BS

The Custom-Designed Major enables students to pursue an individualized, interdisciplinary course of study at Drexel University not readily available through an existing major, or a combination of existing majors and/or minors. The program is designed for highly motivated students whose academic curiosity and career ambitions cannot be satisfied by a traditional major.

About the Program

The major offers students the opportunity for an early intensive research experience, incorporates cooperative education as part of its degree requirements (either four years with one co-op, or five years with three co-ops), and culminates in an original, interdisciplinary senior year project. Each student accepted into the program will be advised by the program staff and closely mentored during their senior year by one or more Drexel faculty members with expertise in at least one of the disciplines composing the student's proposed course of study.

Admission Requirements

Applicants may apply directly to the Custom-Designed Major (CSDN) as current Drexel students or transfer students. Incoming first-year students interested in Custom-Designed Major should apply to the First Year Exploratory Studies (FYES) program; for the students entering FYES with Custom-Designed already in mind as their major, part of their time in FYES will be spent crafting their formal application to the major. Current Drexel students seeking a change of major to Custom-Designed must have final applications submitted by Week One of the summer term preceding their junior year, so that they have a minimum of 5 academic terms in the major prior to graduation.

Degree Requirements

• Foundation Requirements:
  • CIVC 101: Introduction to Civic Engagement (1.0)
  • COOP 101: Career Management and Professional Development (1.0)
  • ENGL 101: Composition and Rhetoric I: Inquiry and Exploratory Research (3.0)
  • ENGL 102: Composition and Rhetoric II: Advanced Research and Evidence-Based Writing (3.0)
  • ENGL 103: Composition and Rhetoric III: Themes and Genres (3.0)
  • CSDN 101: Introduction to Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives (1.0)
  • CSDN 102: Knowledge by Design Seminar (1.0)
  • CSDN 203: Custom-Designed Major Seminar (1.0)
  • CSDN 210: Methods of Interdisciplinary Inquiry (3.0)
  • CSDN 220: Integrative Research Methods (3.0)
  • CSDN 304: Custom-Designed Major Project I (3.0)
  • CSDN 305: Custom-Designed Major Project II (3.0)
  • CSDN 306: Custom-Designed Major Project III (3.0)
  • UNIV PE101: The Drexel Experience (1.0)
• Humanities electives (9.0)
• Mathematics electives (6.0)
• Science electives (8.0)
• Social Sciences electives (9.0)
• Individualized Course Requirements (118.0)

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid "clustering" these courses near the end of their matriculation.

Sample Plan of Study

The sample plans of study are provided for the following options:

• 4-year, one co-op in Fall/Winter
• 4-year, one co-op in Spring/Summer
• 5-year, three co-op in Fall/Winter
• 5-year, three co-op in Spring/Summer

Co-op and Career Services

Students in the major have the option of two co-op programs: One is a five-year program with three co-op cycles (5COP), and the second option is a four-year program with one co-op cycle (4COP). Students will meet with their career services adviser during their time in the program to closely match career objectives with curriculum design and co-op/research opportunities.

Program Level Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, graduates will be prepared to:

• Demonstrate the ability to think and make connections across disciplinary fields of knowledge
• Demonstrate the ability to apply cross-disciplinary methodologies to research
• Demonstrate applied interdisciplinary problem-solving skills to complex problems
• Demonstrate an understanding of content and methodology of at least three substantive fields of knowledge chosen by the student
• Demonstrate self-directed learning through the development and achievement of a set of learning goals which are appropriate to their self-designed course of study and which were crafted in consultation with CSDN faculty (including faculty mentor) and professional staff
• Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills
• Demonstrate the capacity for self-advocacy
• Demonstrate the requisite skills to develop and execute a long-term project that incorporates the knowledge, methodologies, and design techniques of the fields from which the students draws