{"id":1449,"date":"2009-06-11T06:56:07","date_gmt":"2009-06-11T13:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=1449"},"modified":"2016-02-17T13:00:08","modified_gmt":"2016-02-17T18:00:08","slug":"students-define-themselves-by-creating-their-own-course-of-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=1449","title":{"rendered":"Design Your Own Major"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"brain-waves-7257915-v3\"Kevin Zish \u201911 <\/strong>has more than a simple love of learning. He has a passion for learning about<\/em> learning\u2014be it the scientific aspects (how the brain functions, and what happens when our neurotransmitters are firing), the theoretical aspects (why we think the way we do, and what the great thinkers have said about the topic), or even the futuristic aspects (how to take what we know about knowledge acquisition and manipulate it through computation).<\/p>\n

As Zish himself puts it, \u201cI want to know as much about the brain as TCNJ can teach me, and from as many perspectives as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is why he is switching his major from Open Options\/Business to Cognitive Science. But you won\u2019t find Cognitive Science among the \u201cofficial\u201d majors listed in TCNJ\u2019s Undergraduate Bulletin<\/em>. Zish is designing the major himself, carefully researching and selecting courses that will help him \u201cunderstand cognition in a more applicable sense,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Zish is one of a handful of TCNJ students taking advantage of the College\u2019s Self-Designed Major Program. \u201cThis program is for very strong students who want to take the initiative to put together a major in some area that the College can deliver on, but that it has no official degree program in,\u201d explained Richard Kamber<\/strong>, professor of philosophy and co-director of the Self-Design Major Program.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur aim was to create something for the exceptionally self-motivated student,\u201d Kamber said of the program that he co-directs with Steve Klug<\/strong>, professor of biology. \u201cThe level of work and the specifications of each degree are such that the program is for students who are strong even by TCNJ\u2019s high standards. It\u2019s an honors-level program, although not restricted to students in TCNJ\u2019s Honors Program,\u201d Kamber said.<\/p>\n

To be eligible, students must have at least a 3.0 GPA and apply before the beginning of their junior year. Students must write a proposal that includes a justification statement, lists the goals of their proposed majors, and outlines the courses they plan to take as part of their programs of study. The minimum number of classes a student can take is 12, and at least half must be 300- and 400-level classes.<\/p>\n

\"kabadiShaum Kabadi \u201907<\/strong> overshot that minimum by a bit: his self-designed major\u2014the first at TCNJ\u2014was in Biochemistry and required him to take 22 classes. \u201cIn hindsight, that was probably a few more than I needed,\u201d he says now with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Kabadi is currently finishing his Master of Public Health degree at UMDNJ. He said the Self-Designed Major Program proved to be the perfect solution when he changed career plans early in his undergraduate days.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was leaning toward a career in medicine from very early on,\u201d he explains. He enrolled at TCNJ as a Biology major, figuring he would one day go to medical school. At some point, he says, he became uncertain about those plans, and realized his interests lay in epidemiology research, not in practicing medicine. He designed the Biochemistry major knowing that the courses he took would \u201ccome in handy\u201d as an epidemiologist.<\/p>\n

Kabadi is planning to get his PhD in epidemiology research after finishing at UMDNJ. He says he has not ruled out going for a combined MD\/Phd but feels, either way, the Biochemistry degree gave him the knowledge base he needs regardless of the path he chooses.<\/p>\n

Early in the application process, students proposing self-designed majors must secure faculty advisers. \u201cThe advisers are key, as they have the responsibility of working with the students,\u201d Kamber said.<\/p>\n

Once a student\u2019s proposal is complete, it goes before the Self-Designed Major Committee for approval. The committee examines each proposal closely and then schedules interviews with the students. \u201cThe committee can be quite tough, and has been very rigorous in terms of its demands and expectations,\u201d Kamber explained.<\/p>\n

\"cafe-outdoor-italian-4352308-v2\"Megan Van Der Stad \u201910<\/strong> says she was ecstatic when she was told the committee had approved her self-designed major in Italian Studies: she has wanted to study the language ever since her childhood days spent listening to her grandmother speak Italian. She started at the College with a minor in Italian (the only program TCNJ offered), but soon decided she wanted \u201cto dedicate more time to learning this beautiful language.\u201d With her adviser\u2019s help she proposed the bachelor\u2019s degree\u2013granting major in Italian Studies.<\/p>\n

Her program consists mostly of language courses, although there is also a heavy concentration of culture and history. She is studying this semester in Siena, Italy\u2014an experience that is giving her a heavy dose of all three.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m taking five courses, all of which are taught in Italian. I am in class with people from all over the world, and our common language is Italian,\u201d she wrote via e-mail. \u201cI am surrounded by medieval architecture and museums filled with art that dates back to the times of the Etruscans and up to the middle ages. It is extraordinary!\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Der Stad is double majoring in communication studies, a program that requires her to complete 12 separate courses in order to earn a degree. She has no second thoughts about her decision, though. \u201cI am so happy I decided to do the double major in Italian Studies, because I feel it makes my communications degree unique,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Pooja Shah \u201909<\/strong> is another student whose self-designed program is her second major. Shah is working toward dual degrees in psychology and film and television studies, the latter of which she self designed. Like Kabadi, Shah originally thought medical school was in her future. But after seeing the movie Good Will Hunting<\/em>, in which Robin Williams plays a psychologist who helps Matt Damon\u2019s character overcome a troubled childhood, Shah became fascinated by the \u201cinteraction between the psychologist and patient.\u201d She decided that was what she wanted to do, and enrolled in the psychology program at TCNJ.<\/p>\n

\"shahBut when she arrived on campus she had \u201can epiphany,\u201d she says. What really interested her about the film were the \u201cbehind-the-scenes\u201d goings-on. \u201cI wanted to know what it took to produce a film like that, so I designed a major in Film and Television Production,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

Her self-designed program requires 15 courses from the communication studies department, the interactive multimedia program\u2014even an Asian film studies course offered through the modern languages department. She also completed an internship with MTV networks, an experience for which she earned credits toward her Film and Television Studies degree.<\/p>\n

Shah says she is glad she kept the psychology major for a couple of reasons. \u201cIt has helped me with character development when making films, and since my degree is in Industrial\/Organization Psychology, I\u2019m sure it will also help when I\u2019m seeking employment,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

But her dream job lies in film editing, and she is hoping to find employment in that field. \u201cI\u2019m a creative person, and I want a job where I get to let that creative side shine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before graduating, students who have self-designed a major must also complete a senior capstone project (for example, writing and defending a thesis, or submitting a final creative project). The idea is that the project will unify the course of study the student has completed. Although his capstone project is two years off, Zish has been giving it a lot of thought lately. It is the final piece of information he needs to supply before submitting his proposal for a major in Cognitive Science.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe amount of planning I\u2019ve had to do for this self-designed major has been extreme,\u201d Zish says. He has pored over pages and pages of course descriptions, double-checking them against class schedules for the coming years, all in an effort to ensure that every course he needs to take will be offered. He has two faculty advisers assisting him now, and the e-mails back and forth over the past month or so have been non-stop. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s like I\u2019m on instant messenger with them,\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlanning this major has stolen my life for the last three and half semesters, but I\u2019ve loved doing the work to put this proposal together,\u201d he says. Looking down at the course sequence he is proposing for himself\u2014which includes such classes as Eukaryotic Cell Biology, Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Neuroscience, Discrete Structures of Computer Science, and Biopsychology\u2014he laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cInterestingly enough, I came to TCNJ and said to myself, \u2018No computers, and no science.\u2019 Now I\u2019m doing both. But it\u2019s going to be a fun experiment to see if I can get this all done in the four semesters I have left at TCNJ.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks to the new Self-Designed Majors Program, students at TCNJ can define themselves by creating their own course of study. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-june-2009"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}