What Exactly is a Self-Determined Major (SDM)?
Skidmore’s unique self-determined major program is an opportunity available to students at the College who have realized that their academic area of interest does not fully align with any of the majors and minors that the Skidmore catalog has to offer. According to the College’s website, this program is specifically designed for students whose interests transcend the boundaries of the listed majors and minors offered at the College, and serves as “an exciting, intellectually demanding, and academically rewarding program of study.” Recent examples of Skidmore students’ completed Self-Determined Majors include broadcast journalism, media studies, business and ethics, Italian studies, and music engineering.
The Initial Process
In order to begin fulfilling their own SDM, interested students are required to submit and present a proposed course of study to the Self-Determined Major Committee, comprised of five faculty members. The plan must include the addition of two faculty advisors of different disciplines that are related to that proposal, and have secured their approval to proceed with the Committee presentation. The formal proposal itself is required to be carefully typed, edited, and proofread (specific instructions for formulation available on the Skidmore website). The SDM must also meet the typical all-college requirements, as well as the maturity requirement. In addition, any prerequisite courses mandated for the entry into the proposed area of study must be completed before the time of presentation. The proposal itself must be completed no later than October 15th of a student’s junior year or its equivalent.
Continuing and Completing a Self-Determined Major
Once a student’s SDM has been proposed and approved, the Committee itself will then serve as that student’s “department,” and progress towards the degree will be monitored by the Registrar. The chosen degree program itself is mandated to contain at least 10 courses that are related to the student’s central interest. When necessary, SDM students are allowed to incorporate classes and resources not affiliated with Skidmore to complete their requirements, provided the course has been evaluated by both their advisors and the Committee. By the culmination of the SDM, students will have completed a presentation of their final project to the Committee, which will have integrated the varying aspects of that student’s particular major. In addition to the final project, an essay covering the stages of that project will also be submitted to the Committee for review.
Further Resources
If the Self-Determined Major route at Skidmore seems to be a beneficial option for you, providing the opportunity to explore a discipline that is unique to your own interests, check out the full list of requirements, deadlines, and resources available to you at the Skidmore Self-Determined Major page below!