Self-Designed Major
Requirements for the Major:
The Self-Designed Major allows students to develop academic majors of their own, whose requirements they themselves will set, and must meet, in order to complete the major.
The only requirement of all Self-Designed Majors is that they culminate their studies (meet the Senior Studies requirement of the General Education Curriculum) in a senior thesis or a research project: the senior thesis is strongly encouraged. In other words, there is no senior seminar in the Self-Designed Major, and students may not propose to complete their senior studies requirement with a seminar in any regularly-offered major. Self-Designed Majors must complete their senior studies requirement with a substantial piece of independent work.
In addition, the College’s general limitation on the number of Independent Studies (Tutorials) and Internships is waived for Self-Designed Majors. If a student, their advisor in the major, and the Self-Designed Major Committee deem it important to serious study in the major, a Self-Designed Major may complete any number of such courses, although identification of tutorials should be judicious, with a clear rationale for their inclusion.
Because the Self-Designed Major requires initiative, responsibility, and a substantial independent essay or creative work, students should consider carefully their interests, talents, and work ethics before applying to the program. They should consult with their advisors, their friends, their parents, and a member of the Self-Designed Major Committee before applying to the program.
The Self-Designed Major is compatible with a student’s pursuit of a second major, and can be an avenue for studying one of the College’s interdisciplinary minors (such as Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, Cinema Studies, Legal Studies, etc.) in greater depth than the minor will allow.
Application Requirements:
Applicants to the Self-Designed Major Program should consult with the Chair of the Self-Designed Major Program Committee or any Committee member before making their official applications to the program.
Once a student, in consultation with a member of the Program Committee, decides to pursue a Self-Designed Major, they must .
Once a student’s proposal has been approved by the Self-Designed Major Committee, the Chair will inform the student and the registrar, officially declaring the student’s Self-Designed major. It will appear on student’s transcript with the title they gave it in their proposal.
After Declaration of the Self-Designed Major:
Each student is personally responsible for completing their academic plan. To insure that all graduation requirements in the major are met, however, the Chair will solicit an informal report from each Self-Designed Major’s academic advisor each spring semester. The report will include an update on the progress toward the major and any changes in the student’s plans.
The courses listed below are only examples; each self-designed major is different.
A recent course list for a Self-Designed Major in Film and Television Studies
COMM 175: Intro to Film Studies
COMM 212: Visual Rhetoric
AFAM 258: Spike Lee and Black Aesthetics

MUSC 266: Music in Film
CHIN 333: Chinese Cinema
PHIL 301: Romantic Comedies and the Philosophy of Love
FREN 334: Exploring French Lit thru Film
ASIA 245: Film and Religion
COMM 376: Queer Cinema
Senior Research Project:
Evaluating the Star Wars Franchise as a Cultural Phenomenon
A recent course list for a Self-Designed Major in Legal Studies
PHIL 156 Logic & Styles of Arguments
POLS 260 Intro to Legal Studies
PHIL 240 Philosophy of Law Econ
ECON 345 Economics and Law
POLS 261 American Constitutional Law
POLS 348 International Law
POLS 365 Civil Liberties
COMM 253 Argumentation and Advocacy
ES 361 Environmental Law
COMM 387 Rhetoric of Law
Senior Research Project:
Sports Law and Agency
To major in film production, we would strongly recommend a course list like this:
Film Production
6 Film/Video Production Courses, including: CINE 201, CINE 202, CINE 370
4 Film Theory courses, including CINE 175
Courses taken on 91ÉçÇø In The Loop from Columbia College
A Creative Project (or a Thesis) with 91ÉçÇø Faculty
Self-Designed Majors in Entrepreneurship and Innovation might look something like these:
Non-Profit Marketing
A sequence of ENTP courses, plus
Electives in a focus area, say Digital Marketing:
ART 142 Digital Design Foundations
ART 253 Graphic Design

ART 370 Interactive Web Design or CSCI 270 Web Development

CSCI 107: Introduction to Web Programming or CSCI 112: Computer Science
This might prepare you for a Senior Creative Project like this:
A digital marketing campaign for a real life startup non-profit
Rethinking Human Resources
A sequence of ENTP courses, plus
Electives in a focus area, say management :
PSYCH 355 Industrial & Organizational Psychology
BUSN 245: Principles of Management
BUSN 343: Diversity in Organizations
PSYC 208: Psychology of Career Development
PSYC 211: Adulthood and Aging
This might prepare you for a Senior Research Project like this:
Addressing Life Stage Changes in Human Resource Management
A Self-Designed Major in Social Innovation might look something like this:
Distributing Humanitarian Aid
A sequence in ENTP courses, plus
Electives in a focus area, say Social Justice:
SOAN 210 Principles of Social Organization
SOAN 239 Social Movements in Society
SOAN 310 Social Research: Quantitative Methods or SOAN 320 Social Research: Quantitative Methods
PHIL 276 Social Justice and Human Rights
ECON 265: Poverty, Inequality, and Discrimination
This might prepare you for a Senior Research Project like this:
US Foreign Aid in Afghanistan: and Evaluation and Recommendation