Interdepartmental Major

Has your educational path made you think about a more personal, autobiographical degree, one that is built on your individual and academic interests investigated from a variety of disciplinary perspectives?

Interdepartmental majors are an avenue for URochester undergraduate students to forge their own academic experience by combining courses already offered at the University to create a customized program of study.

High achieving students can also consider applying to the individualized interdepartmental research honors program.

Interdepartmental Major Requirements

An interdepartmental major must consist of ten core courses (40 credits) from at least two departments, and up to four supplementary courses. The major will need to be supervised by two faculty advisors, and approved by the Committee on Individualized Interdepartmental Programs (CIIP). Additional credits are for those who wish to complete the individualized interdepartmental research honors program.

Interdepartmental majors cannot:

  • Follow a similar course of study through some combination of existing majors, minors, or certificates
  • Be pre-professional in nature (e.g., pre-med or physical therapy)

Interdepartmental clusters available through the cluster search engine (clusters that include 'INT' in the cluster ID) are still available. There is no interdepartmental minor.

First-years and seniors are not eligible to apply for an interdepartmental major.

Finding your Faculty Advisors

Interdepartmental majors require two faculty advisors with:

  • At least one of the faculty advisors must be at the level of assistant professor or above
  • Both faculty members being connected to the program you are proposing
  • The two faculty advisors must be from different departments

Once you have two faculty members who agree to be your advisor and meet the criteria, you can should submit their Interdepartmental Faculty Recommender Agreement Forms, with one form per faculty advisor. Interdepartmental Faculty Recommender Agreement Forms are due either October 1 (fall semester) or March 1 (spring semester).

Developing your Proposal

Before you start your proposal process you must have completed enough courses to demonstrate to CIIP that you can meet the graduation requirements in the interdepartmental endeavor you are proposing.

  1. Meet with potential faculty advisors and review your proposal idea and list of prospective courses
  2. Select your faculty advisors and share with them your intended proposal timeline
  3. Ask faculty advisors for their preferred form of communication
  4. Share the Faculty Recommender Agreement and Faculty Recommendation forms along with information about form submission deadlines with the selected faculty advisors
  5. Research pre-requisites and restrictions for the courses you have included in your proposal
    1. CIIP will expect you to share in your proposal the plans you have in place to be prepared for the courses you have selected
    2. Look for the primary (or parent) department that offers the course
    3. Use UR Student to get a sense of how often the course is offered
  6. Begin to work on proposal essays

Submit Proposal

Completed proposals include:

The deadline to submit application materials is either November 1 (fall semester) or March 30 (spring semester). Incomplete proposals will not be reviewed.

After Submission

All proposals are reviewed by the CIIP which has representatives from each divisional area: humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. You will be notified in writing by email of the committee's decision.

If your proposal is approved: You will receive an approval letter and a completed declaration form once your interdepartmental program is officially declared.

If your proposal is conditionally approved: CIIP will give conditions that need to be met in order for the proposal to be approved.

If your proposal is not approved: CIIP will share its reasons for the decision. The committee's decision cannot be appealed. Students may submit a new proposal to be reviewed in the next proposal cycle if they met eligibility requirements.

Sample Programs

Below is a sample list of interdepartmental majors that have previously been approved. Please select a title to see details. Please note: creating a major that has been approved in the past does not necessarily mean your program will be approved. 

Artistic and Mathematical Space

Division: Natural Sciences

Core Courses:

  • MATH 265: Functions of a Real Variable
  • SART 396: Senior Seminar I
  • SART 397: Senior Seminar II
  • MATH 215: Fractals and Computer Graphics
  • MATH 250: Introduction to Geometry
  • MATH 240: Introduction to Topology
  • MATH 248: Graph Theory
  • SART 222A: Advanced Painting
  • SART 391W: Independent Study: Origami Design
  • MATH 391W: Independent Study: Mathematical Intuition

Supplementary Courses:

  • MATH 200: Proofs and Fundamentals
  • MATH 235: Linear Algebra
  • MATH 395: Research: Mathematics of Origami
  • MATH 393: Honors Thesis/Senior Project
Astrobiology

Division: Natural Sciences

Core Courses:

  • ASTR 241: Astrophysics I
  • ASTR 232: Milky Way Galaxy
  • BIOL 263W: Ecology
  • BIOL 266: Tree of Life
  • CHEM 203: Organic Chemistry I
  • EESC 201: Evolution of the Earth
  • EESC 218W: Chemistry of Global Change
  • EESC 255: Planetary Science
  • PHYS 235W: Classic Mechanics
  • PHYS 237: Quantum Mechanics of Physics

Supplementary Courses:

  • CHEM 207: Organic Chemistry Lab I
  • MATH 281: Fourier Analysis with Partial Differential Equations
Bioinformatics

Division: Natural Sciences

Core Courses:

  • BIOL 198: Principles of Genetics
  • BIOL 250: Introduction to Biochemistry
  • BIOL 253: Computational Biology
  • IND 395W: Independent Study
  • MATH 201: Introduction to Probability
  • MATH 202: Introduction to Stochastic Processes
  • MATH 218: Introduction to math Models in the Life Sciences
  • CSC 161: Art of Programming
  • CSC 172: Science of Data Structure
  • CSC 212: Human-Computer Interaction

Supplementary Courses:

  • STAT 211: Applied Statistics for the Social Sciences I
  • BIOL 395W: Independent Research
  • MATH 165: Linear Algebra with Differential Equations
Chinese Studies

Division: Humanities

Core Courses:

  • CHIN 102: Elementary Chinese II
  • CHIN 202: Advanced Intermediate Chinese I
  • CHIN 203: Advanced Intermediate Chinese II
  • CHIN 204: Advanced Chinese I (study abroad course)
  • CHIN 205: Advanced Chinese II (study abroad course)
  • Chinese Philosophy and Modern China (study abroad course)
  • CHIN 232: Asian Calligraphy
  • CHIN 391: Politics and Science in China
  • HIST 183: Modern China
  • HIST 283: Political Economics of China

Supplementary Courses:

  • CHIN 114: Conversational Chinese
Contemporary American Society

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • HIST 148: Recent America, 1929-1980
  • HIST 268: American Thought: 1865-1990
  • HIST 390: Vietnam War Seminar (transfer credit)
  • PHIL 223W: Social and Political Theory
  • PSCI 220: Social Movements in the U.S.
  • PSCI 237: Domestic Social Policy
  • PSCI 281: Formal Models in Political Science
  • PSYC 161: Social Psychology and Individual Differences
  • PSYC 262W: Human Motivation and Emotion
  • SOCI 205: Microsociology

Supplementary Courses:

  • PSCI 101: Introduction to American Politics (transfer credit)
  • MUSC 141D: The Blues
  • PSYC 171: Social and Emotional Development
  • PSYC 278: Adolescent Psychology

Critical Foundations of Political and Social Thought [Hide/show]

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • PHIL 308: Morality and War
  • PSCI 200: Applied Data Analysis
  • PSCI 288: Game Theory
  • PSCI 391: Independent Study
  • Patterns of Power (study abroad course)
  • Modern British Political History (study abroad course)
  • PSCI 267W: Identity, Ethnicity and Nationalism
  • PSCI 272: Theories of International Relations
  • CLTR 281B: Psychoanalysis and Literature
  • ANTH 227: Local and Global Market Research
Cultural Consumerism

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • ANTH 227: Local and Global Market Research
  • ANTH 225: Social Uses of Media
  • ANTH 245: American Culture
  • ANTH 391: Ethnographic Approach to Marketing
  • LING 105: Language in Advertising
  • PSYC 364W: Independent Study
  • Management and Organization Analysis (study abroad course)
  • MKT 203: Principles of Marketing
  • MKT 213: Marketing Projects
  • HIST 252: Cultural History of the U.S.: 1876-Present
  • HIST 361: Socioeconomic Development in the Atlantic World

Supplementary Courses:

  • STAT 211: Applied Statistics for Social Science
  • FMST 205: Introduction to Digital Art
  • ECON 207: Intermediate Microeconomics
Cultural Identities

Division: Humanities

Core Courses:

  • MUSC 122: History of Jazz
  • MUSC 141: The Blues
  • ENGL 228: Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
  • ENGL 250: Representation of Race
  • ENGL 250: Asian American Fiction
  • ANTH 191Q: Cultural Anthropology
  • RELC 226: Martin and Malcom in America
  • AH 274: Cultural History of American Architecture
  • JWST 220: Yiddish Literature
  • PSCI 282W: Art and Politics

Supplementary Courses:

  • IND 391: Independent Study
Environmental Policy

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • ANTH 226: Culture and Consumption
  • ANTH 278W: Birth and Death II: Making Populations Healthy
  • ANTH 281K: Solving URs Environmental Footprint
  • BIOL 104K: Ecosystem Conservation and Human SOciety
  • CHE 150: Green Engineering
  • EESC 318W: Environmental Decisions
  • PHIL 230: Environmental Justice
  • PSCI 247: Green Markets
  • PSCI 243: Environmental Politics
  • EDU 391: Independent Study

Supplementary Courses:

  • DANC 214: Community, Earth and Body
  • AAAS 277: Energy Resources and Utilization
  • EESC 103: Introduction to Environmental Science
Global Studies in Sustainability

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • CHE 150: Green Engineering
  • ED 332: China's Developmental and Environmental Challenges (study abroad course)
  • EESC 219W: Energy and Mineral Resources
  • EESC 319W: Energy Decisions
  • PSCI 243: Environmental Politics
  • PSCI 294: International Political Economy
  • ANTH 227: Local and Global Market Research
  • ANTH 226: Culture and COnsumption
  • ANTH 280K: Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Transportation
  • CHE 150: Green Engineering for a Sustainable Environment
  • EC 321: Indian Microeconomic Development (study abroad course)
Holistic Health Studies

Division: Natural Sciences

Core Courses:

  • BIOL 203: Mammalian Anatomy
  • BIOL 204: Mammalian Physiology
  • BIOL 110: Principles of Biology I
  • BIOL 111: Principles of Biology II
  • BCSC 151: Perception and Action
  • PSYC 262W: Human Motivation and Emotion
  • PSYC 283: Behavioral Medicine
  • DANC 211: T'Aichi: Explorations in Qi
  • STAT 211: Applied Statistics for the Social Sciences I
  • HIST 208W: Health, Medicine and Social Reform
Integrative Neurobiology

Division: Natural Sciences

Core Courses:

  • BIOL 198 Principles of Genetics
  • BIOL 203 Mammalian Anatomy
  • BIOL 205 Evolution
  • BIOL 247 Environmental Animal Physiology
  • BIOL 260 Animal Behavior
  • BIOL 263 Ecology
  • BCSC 172 Development of Mind and Brain
  • BCSC 183 Animal Minds
  • BCSC/NSCI 244 Neuroethology
  • BCSC/NSCI 249 Developmental Neurobiology

Supplementary Courses:

  • CSSP 391 Independent Study: Biological Effects of Color on Attraction
  • BCSC 240/NSCI 201 Basic Neurobiology
Islam and the Modern World

Division: Humanities

Core Courses:

  • ANTH 264: Islam and Global Politics
  • ARBC 102: Elementary Arabic II
  • ARBC 103: Intermediate Arabic I
  • ARBC 104: Intermediate Arabic II
  • ARBC 149: Contemporary Fiction from the Arab World
  • HIST 273W: Making of the Modern Middle East
  • RELC 240W: Muhammad and the Qur'an
  • RELC 247W: Islam and the Third World
  • RELC 391: Islam and Pluralism
  • RELC 391: Islam and America
Linguistic Anthropology

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • ANTH 101: Cultural Anthropology
  • ANTH 204W: Ethnographic Themes
  • ANTH 110: Introduction to Linguistic Analysis
  • LING 102: Language and Social Identity
  • LING 225: Lexical Semantics
  • LING 226: Morphology
  • ASL 200W: Signed Language Structures
  • FMST/ANTH 340: Media and Society (study abroad course)
  • ANTH 201: Theory and Method in Anthropology
  • ASL 250: Sociology of Deaf Community
Middle Eastern Studies

Division: Humanities

Core Courses:

  • ANTH 264: Islam and Global Politics
  • ARBC 103: Intermediate Arabic
  • ARBC 203: Arabic Prose
  • HBRW 204: Hebrew Through Conversation
  • HIST 244W: Islam and the Third World
  • JWST 203: History of Judaism
  • PSCI 270W: Mechanisms of International Relations
  • HIST 117: History of Islam
  • Upper Intermediate Hebrew (study abroad course)
  • Lower Intermediate Hebrew (study abroad course)
  • Middle East: Rapprochement and Coexistence (study abroad course)

Supplementary Courses:

  • ARBC 101: Elementary Arabic I
  • ARBC 102: Elementary Arabic II
  • HBRW 103: Intermediate Hebrew
Music in Contemporary American

Division: Humanities

Core Courses:

  • ANTH 226: Culture and Consumption
  • HIST 252: Cultural History of the U.S.: 1876-Present
  • MUSC 122: History of Jazz
  • MUSC 127: The Blues
  • MUSC 211: Theory III
  • MUSC 214B: Analysis of Popular Music
  • MUSC 394: Internship
  • PSYC 267W: Psychology of Gender
  • GSWS 129: Women and Music
  • MKT 203: Principles of Marketing

Supplementary Courses:

  • MUSC 134: Musical Styles and Genre
  • MUSC 201: Jazz Theory and Improvisation
  • PSYC 278W: Adolescent Development
  • MUE 110: Introduction to Music Education
Myth and Folklore

Division: Humanities

Core Courses:

  • ANTH 203W: Ritual, Myth and Scripture
  • ENGL 201: Beowulf
  • AHST 280: Native American Art and Religion
  • ENGL 206: Medieval Celtic Literature
  • ENGL 112: Classical and Scriptural Backgrounds
  • ENGL 254: Arthurian Traditions
  • ENGL 244: Myth, Fairytale and the Didactics of Popular Culture
  • ENGL 380: Robin Hood: All-American Hero
  • RELC 250: Shiva and Shakti
  • RELC 252: Heroines and Heroes

Supplementary Courses:

  • CLST 135: Classical Mythology
Native American Studies

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • AHST 277: The Museum and the "Other"
  • AHST 280: Native American Art and Religion
  • ETH 290: Independent Study
  • ANTH 274: Creative Ethnography
  • HIST 172: Indians and Other Americans
  • HIST 200: Introduction to Archaeology
  • HIST 204: History of Federal Indian Law
  • HIST 262: Gender and Representation in Native American Art
  • ENGL 391: Representatives of Native Americans in Colonial and Post-Colonial Fiction
  • ANTH 101: Cultural Anthropology
Religion and Politics of the Middle East

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • ANTH 264: Islam and Global Politics
  • INTR 226: America's 21st Century Wars
  • JWST 214: Imagining the Jew
  • RELC 240W: Muhammad and the Qur'an
  • ANTH 203: Ritual Myth and Scripture
  • JWST 113: History of Judaism
  • RELC 247W: Islam and the Third World
  • PSCI 48192: Negotiating Middle East Peace (study abroad course)
  • PSCI 48221: History of the Modern State of Israel (study abroad course)
  • PSCI 48289: Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Documentary History (study abroad course)
Socioeconomic Anthropology

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • ANTH 227: Local and Global Market Research
  • ANTH 202: Modern Social Theory: Key Texts and Issues
  • ANTH 291: Research Practicum: Doing Anthropology
  • ANTH 226: Culture and Consumption
  • SOCI 310K: Social Network Theory and Entrepreneurship
  • ANTH 280K: Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Transportation
  • PSCI 239K: Nature of Entrepreneurship
  • PSCI 262: Globalization Past and present
  • PSYC 264: Industrial and Organizational Psychology
  • ECON 207: Intermediate Microeconomics
  • PSCI 200: Applied Data Analysis

Supplementary Courses:

  • ANTH 101: Cultural Anthropology
  • ECON 108: Principles of Economics
Stage and Screen Culture

Division: Humanities

Core Courses:

  • ANTH 202: Modern Social Theory
  • ANTH 203: Ritual, Myth and Scripture
  • ENGL 123: Playwriting
  • ENGL 235: 20th Century Drama
  • ENGL 252: Theatre in England
  • ENGL 240: Literacy Cultural Theory
  • FMST 246: Bright Lights, Big City
  • FMST 288: Cinema and Revolution
  • FMST 356: Classical Film Theory
  • SCAN 7503: Icelandic Folklore (study abroad course)

Supplementary Courses:

  • ENGL 203: Early English Drama
  • ENGL 244: Myth and Fairy Tale
  • ENGL 177: Acting Techniques
  • ECLS 6004: Context and Comparison (study abroad course)
Sustainability Planning and Development

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • ANTH 224: Culture, Economy and Global Sustainability
  • ANTH 226: Culture and Consumption
  • ANTH 227: Local and GLobal Market Research
  • BIOL 104: Ecosystem Conservation and Human Society
  • CHE 281K: Solving URs Environmental Footprint
  • EESC 218W: The Chemistry of Global Change
  • EESC 318W: Environmental Decisions
  • HIST 371W: Environmental History
  • PSCI 243: Seminar on Environmental Politics

Supplementary Courses:

  • PHIL 230: Environmental Justice
Sustainable Development

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • ANTH 223: Nature, Landscape, Environment
  • ANTH 224: Anthropology and Development
  • ANTH 226: Culture and Consumption
  • CHE 281K: Solving URs Environmental Footprint
  • EESC 103: Introduction to Environmental Science
  • EESC 318W: Environmental Decisions
  • ECON 238: Environmental Economics
  • PHIL 230: Environmental Justice
  • PSCI 243W: Seminar of Environmental Politics
  • Sustainable Development: Environmental, Political and Social Issues (study abroad course)
Sustainable Policy and Systems

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • EESC 219: Energy and Mineral Resources
  • EESC 318W: Environmental Decisions
  • ANTH 281K: Solving URs Environmental Footprint
  • ANTH 227: Local and Global Market Research
  • PHIL 230: Environmental Justices
  • PSCI 209: Interest Groups in America
  • ECON 238: Environmental Economics
  • PSCI 262: Globalization Past and Present
  • CHE 391: Independent Study
  • CHE 393: Senior Project

Supplementary Courses:

  • STAT 211: Statistics for the Social Sciences
  • ECON 108: Principles of Economics
Sustainable Urban Development

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • AHST 398: Modern Architecture and Urbanism: The LA Modern
  • ANTH 281K: Solving URs Environmental Footprint
  • ANTH 202: Modern Social Theory
  • ANTH 227: Local and Global Market Research
  • ECON 108: Introduction to Economics
  • ECON 224: Economics of Sports and Entertainment
  • Metropolitan Development: Urban Studies (study abroad course)
  • The Transformed and Recycled City (study abroad course)
  • HIST 169: The Transatlantic Twenties
  • HIST 373W: Sex and Gender in the American City

Supplementary Courses:

  • PSCI 106: Introduction to International Relations
  • PSCI 243: Seminar on Environmental Politics
  • SART 151: Introductory Digital Art
  • SART 252A: Advanced Digital Art
Urban Dynamics

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • AHST 274: Cultural History of American Architecture
  • AHST 114: Creating Architecture
  • AH 3001: Art and Architecture of Prague (study abroad course)
  • AHST 394: Urban Studies Internship
  • ANTH 2204: Anthropology of Development
  • ANTH 280K: Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Transportation
  • PSCI 220: Social Movements in the United States
  • PSCI 243: Environmental Politics
  • ECON 224: Economics of SPorts and Entertainment
  • ECON 251W: Industrial Organization
  • ECON 207: Intermediate Microeconomics

Supplementary Courses:

  • ECON 209: Intermediate Macroeconomics
Urban Youth Studies

Division: Social Sciences

Core Courses:

  • ECON 207: Microeconomics
  • ECON 209: Macroeconomics
  • ECON 253W: Economics and Social Conditions of African Americans
  • ANTH 201: Theory and Method in Anthropology
  • ANTH 391W: Supporting Incarcerated Youth
  • PSYC 278: Adolescent Development
  • PSYC 171: Social and Emotional Development
  • ENT 227: Entrepreneurship in Not-for-Profit Environment
  • ED 425: Minority Youth Development in Urban Contexts

Supplementary Courses:

  • ANTH 101: Cultural Anthropology
  • ECON 108: Principles of Economics