ISM Academic Program

Academic Requirements for ISMs

An Individualized Studies Major is an interdisciplinary, student-designed program of study, resulting in a BA or BS degree that meets the below requirements. The ISM:

  • Has a concise, specific unifying focus that markedly differs from existing majors and minors (including subfields of existing majors e.g. Archaeology, Marine Biology, Antebellum History)
  • Consists of 36 credits:
    • 33 credits of the student's choice and 3 required credits as a capstone experience
    • A 3-credit interdisciplinary capstone course (usually IARL 460) OR a student-designed, 3-credit integrative learning internship.
  • Demonstrates depth: at least 18 credits from a single prefix (9+ at upper division level).
  • Demonstrates breadth: credits from at least 2 prefixes.
  • Includes no more than 4 credits of Directed Study/Internships (not including the capstone, IARL 460).
  • Include 24+ credits at 200-level or above, of which 18+ must be 300-level or above.

Use the to map out the courses you will take for your ISM.

For more information, contact the Individualized Studies Major Coordinator Dr. Melanie Medeiros (medeiros@geneseo.edu).

ISM and »Ê¹Ú²©²ÊÍøÖ· Learning Outcomes for a Baccalaureate Education (GLOBE)

Individualized Studies Majors—meet »Ê¹Ú²©²ÊÍøÖ· learning outcomes (GLOBE) by helping you connect knowledge and skills across areas and make connections to issues facing today’s society. In particular, an ISMs allows you to demonstrate: 

  • Integrative Inquiry: To ask meaningful questions connecting personal experiences to academic study and co-curricular life; to synthesize multiple bodies of knowledge to address real-world problems and issues.
  • Application and Transfer: To adapt and apply skills, theories, and methods gained in one or more domains to new situations.
  • Reflection: To reflect upon changes in learning and outlook over time; to make personal, professional, and civic plans based on that self-reflection.