Brohel, coordinator of the Individualized Studies Program at the Center for Lifelong Learning, enrolled Hammond in the program that assists students in designing a major of their choice. The program appeals to highly motivated students as well as to adult students who want to advance their careers, she said. Not an independent study program or one that gives credit for experience, Individualized Studies requires students to take regular courses on campus in a degree program designed by the student, a faculty advisor and a committee of faculty and staff who help guide students in selecting appropriate courses. Students who want to finish a degree program in the typical four years need to apply or the program no later than the beginning of their junior year. Sophomore year would be better, Brohel said.
Students have to justify why they want to do an individual studies program.
They have to state what they want to do, how they propose to do that and why they want to do it. That justification is then scrutinized by a committee and carries a committee approval. Often, the committee recommends changes to the project to make it academically sound, Brohel said. Dr. Nancy Church, professor in the management and marketing department, served as Hammond's faculty advisor. This program worked especially well for me because of the direction I wanted to go.