Every student reaches a point where they have to declare a major and choose one subject on which to focus their studies. But what happens when Fairfield does not offer anything a student is interested in?
Dave Grazynski ’04 found himself in this situation when he arrived at Fairfield. He still wanted to get as much out of his four year experience as possible and the university did not offer a major that caught his interest.
Grazynski took matters into his own hands and created his own major called Visual and Auditory Culture.
“I was really interested in the subject matter and I couldn’t find interest with any other established majors,” said Grazynski. “I thought that my time at Fairfield would be best spent doing something that I designed myself.”
Lindsay MacDonald ’04 chose an individually designed major in environmental studies because she had taken a few classes in the subject area that caught her attention.
“Being given the opportunity to design my own major and study the environment has been a really good experience,” said MacDonald.
“I suggest to anyone that is interested in designing their own major definitely do it,” MacDonald added.
While individualized majors are not the norm, they are available in the College of Arts and Sciences for any student who wishes to pursue their own course of study in an area the university does not offer.
“The intent of the individualized major is to provide an opportunity to design a major that we do not currently have,” said Dr. Raymond Poincelot, who is in charge of the individualized majors at Fairfield, “but which we are capable of supporting within the context of our resources and existing faculty expertise and courses.”
Currently there are fewer than 20 individualized majors at Fairfield.
“I would say that selecting the individualized major is not common,” said Dr. Timothy Snyder, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “This is probably true because, for a school our size, we offer more regular options for programs of study than do most institutions.”
Students often pursue an individualized major when they find a special talent or interest and there is a faculty member involved with that subject matter they can work with. It is common for students to create majors out of subjects that only offer minors, such as classical studies.
“Should this become a norm or even an activity of sufficient presence, we would have to add additional faculty and, especially, administrative to the mix in order to handle it,” Snyder said.
If a student wishes to pursue an individually designed major, they must meet certain requirements.
There must be a minimum of ten courses in the College of Arts and Sciences with a suitable number of those being at an advanced level. The student is also required to put together a senior project and keep a portfolio to track their progress for an advisor.
Grazynski found administrators and faculty willing to help him design his own major and focused on his area of study.
“Even though I had to work through a lot of red tape through the university, the administrators and faculty that have been outright opposed to the idea have been a minority,” he said.
Creating one’s own major may not be the normal way to declare an area of study at Fairfield, but students should be aware that it is always an option when they cannot find a major that whets their appetite.
“The advice I can give is to stick with it,” said Grazynski. “If you believe in it just keep at it and don’t let all the headaches that come with it hinder your progress.”
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