About the Self-Determined Major

A self-determined major is a course of study that an individual student develops based upon his or her intellectual, personal, and career interests that transcends the boundaries of the majors and minor that departments and programs at Skidmore College offer. 

A student may discover within a major field, for example, intellectual connections to another area of study not possible within the requirements for a traditional, a double, or an interdepartmental major. Alternatively, he or she may discover specific ways that disciplines converge to form a unique body of knowledge rich in its potential for sustained academic study. Students may realize connections  between the College's degree programs and the professional world. These connections can provide serious and motivated students with exciting, intellectually demanding, and academically rewarding study:  a Self-Determined Major.  Regardless of its focus, a self-determined major goes beyond merely pulling together a random list of disparate courses to create an independent, liberal arts major.

Appointed by the College Curriculum Committee, the Self-Determined Majors Subcommittee (SDMS)  is charged with overseeing the Self-Determined Major Program, including evaluating and approving proposals for Self-Determined Majors. The SDMS works in close contact with the Offices of the Dean of Studies and the Registrar to monitor the progress toward the degree of each self-determined major. The SDMS may also consult department chairs to assess the feasibility of proposed programs and the availability of departmental resources. After a student's program has been approved and the student's major declared, the SDMS functions as the student's "department," with the Chairperson of the SDMS functioning as the student's "department chairperson." 

Self-determined major information from the 09-10 Catalog