The individual major is a program leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree in an area of study that is appropriate to the College of Environmental Design (CED) but that cannot be accomplished through the three existing majors. Some examples of individual majors include architectural structures, architectural journalism, visual design, computer applications in architecture, urban planning, community development, and the social basis of design.

Students proposing an individual major must be in good academic standing, have completed at least one semester in the College of Environmental Design, and be sponsored by a member of the college faculty. The major must be proposed no later than the first semester of the junior year.

The proposed major must include the three lower-division Environmental Design courses and a minimum of 36 upper-division units from any department relevant to the field of student, with at least 12 upper-division units from the College of Environmental Design (including Environmental Design 195: Senior Thesis).

The student must propose a detailed program developed in consultation with a faculty member in the college who agrees to serve as a sponsor (the sponsor must be a member of the Academic Senate). The individual major proposal must include a written statement of support from the faculty sponsor and conform to the following guidelines:

• Applicants must have a 3.0 grade-point average.
  
  
• The proposal must include a student statement describing the content and focus of the proposed major and thesis.
  
  
• The faculty sponsor’s statement should include the educational objectives of the major and show support for the student.
  
  
• The proposed program may not exceed the college’s semester limit and must include all college and University requirements, including Environmental Design 1, 11A, and 11B; one Calculus or Statistics course; all breadth requirements, unit requirements, etc.
  
  
• The 36 required upper-division units may be drawn from any department relevant to the field of study, but at least 12 units must be in the College of Environmental Design.
  
  
• Approval of courses for the major does not guarantee acceptance into the courses; this is especially true for courses outside of CED. Course prerequisites must be met and regular enrollment procedures must be followed. The student must present documentation from the relevant academic departments that s/he will have access to all courses outside CED that are specified in the proposal.
  
  
• A senior thesis is required as part of the major program. At least one semester of Environmental Design 195: Senior Thesis must be included in the major. The thesis must be approved by the faculty sponsor and submitted to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies by the last day of instruction in the term in which the thesis is completed. The faculty sponsor must grade the thesis (Environmental Design 195), present a final written evaluation, and certify completion of the individual major requirements to the Associate Dean. See the section below on Thesis Guidelines for more information.
  
  
• The proposal, together with the sponsor’s written statement and course availability documentation, must be submitted to the Undergraduate Office (232 Wurster Hall). If the proposal meets the general guidelines listed above, it will be forwarded to the Associate Dean for review.
  
  

Thesis Guidelines

An individual major thesis should consist of approximately 30 pages of double-spaced 12-point text, with endnotes, bibliography, etc., bringing the total to approximately 45 pages. The thesis should be written using a University-approved style, as determined by the faculty sponsor. The Environmental Design Library has a large number of excellent resources on writing theses. Consult the reference librarian for more information.

Thesis Deadlines

A typical thesis completion schedule is as follows. Outline and bibliography are due to the sponsor by the end of week five of the term in which the thesis is written. Students may also submit an initial draft to the sponsor at this time. A full draft of the thesis is due by the end of the 10th week. The completed thesis is due on the Friday of the second-to-last week of full instruction during the semester in which Environmental Design 195 is taken, or the date specified by the sponsor. The thesis must be submitted to the Associate Dean by the last day of instruction.

Items to be Submitted for Consideration for the Individual Major

• Petition for Undergraduate Individual Major
• Undergraduate Individual Major Student Statement
• Undergraduate Individual Major Faculty Sponsor Statement
• Undergraduate Petition: Change of College, Major or Curriculum (Office of the Registrar)
• Completed Program Planning Form, indicating specifically how the student will complete all University, college, and major requirements within the semester limit. All remaining graduation requirements must be included in this plan.