The Bachelor of Arts with a major in interdepartmental studies requires a minimum of 120 s.h., including at least 33-47 s.h. of work for the major (total semester hours required depends on the track). Students must maintain a g.p.a. of at least 2.00 in all courses for the major and in all UI courses for the major. They also must complete the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences GE CLAS Core.
Students choose one of four tracks for the major: applied human services, business studies, health science, or an individualized plan of study. The individualized plan of study track is selective; students must apply and be admitted to this track before they may declare it. The other three tracks are open; students may declare them without an application.
The Bachelor of Arts with a major in interdepartmental studies requires coursework from one of the four following track options:
Applied Human Services Track
Business Studies Track
Health Science Track
Individualized Plan of Study Track
Applied Human Services Track
The applied human services track requires 36-42 s.h. of work for the major. It provides a preapproved plan of study that combines a generalized psychology background with a choice of three emphasis areas: aging services, community-based services, and corrections services. Students who choose this track also have the option of proposing their own human services-related emphasis area to the faculty advisory committee.
For more information about requirements and recommended courses, visit the Applied Human Services Track page or use the links found below.
Business Studies Track
The business studies track requires 37-50 s.h. of work for the major. It provides a preapproved plan of study that combines a generalized business background with a choice of four emphasis areas: organizational practice and perspectives, values and ethics, arts management, and technology and inquiry. Students who choose this track also have the option of proposing their own business-related emphasis area to the faculty advisory committee.
For more information about requirements and recommended courses, visit the Business Studies Track page or use the links found below.
Health Science Track
The health science track requires 38-43 s.h. of work for the major. It provides a preapproved plan of study that combines a generalized health background with a varied choice of emphasis areas: multidisciplinary science, entrepreneurial, aging, global health, cultures of healing, and writing for the sciences. Students who choose this track also have the option of proposing their own health science-related emphasis area to the faculty advisory committee.
For more information about requirements and recommended courses, visit the Health Science Track page or use the links found below.
Individualized Plan of Study Track
The individualized plan of study track requires a minimum of 36 s.h. of work for the major, all taken at the University of Iowa. Students who choose this track build their own study plan, creating a unique major that speaks to interests across departments and that integrates varied approaches to a particular topic (e.g., aging studies, international business, children's studies, environmental issues, health issues).
Students must submit their study plan for approval. The plan must include an essay that provides a clear statement of the area of intellectual focus; the reasons for preferring the Interdepartmental Studies Program (ISP) to any departmental program; a concrete discussion of how the advanced courses relate to each other, to personal interests, and to the central focus of the study plan; a description of academic goals for the bachelor's degree; a list of advanced-level coursework already completed; and a list of advanced-level coursework planned for all remaining semesters.
Each study plan is approved by a faculty advisory committee. If the advisory committee does not grant approval, the study plan may be returned to a student for revisions and resubmitted. In some cases, a student may be referred to an appropriate departmental major.
Once the study plan is approved, a student is required to follow the plan, taking the courses approved for it. A limited number of substitutions may be allowed, but only if they are clearly consistent with the area of intellectual focus in the approved study plan, and only if they are approved in advance by the ISP advisor. Unauthorized substitutions may be designated as elective coursework.
Significant changes in the focus of a student's study plan require the submission and approval of a revised study plan. A student's academic advisor determines whether changes warrant a revised plan.
For more information about requirements and how to get started, visit the Individualized Plan of Study Track page or use the links found below.
Additional information on courses, curriculum, and requirements of the Bachelor of Arts with a major in interdepartmental studies, visit the UI General Catalog.