I soon learned that although our administration is very supportive of special majors, many professors are not. Some told me to complete an international relations degree and specialize in the Middle East. I flatly refused. My interests include much more than the actions of governments. I wanted to study the culture, the language, the religion and the history of the region.
Special majors are by no means written in stone.
Because of scheduling difficulties, slight changes in a special major's proposal are necessary. Although I have never had a problem with an over-registered course, scheduling classes each semester is a nightmare because my major consists of courses in more than one department. While individual departments stagger their courses so that majors have few difficulties designing their schedules, special majors are left to fend for themselves. Adding five - college courses and electives only complicates scheduling. Also, the increased academic requirements of special majors 40 credits, at least 20 of which must be 300-level further complicates matters.