Departments & Programs
Individualized Major Program
Introduction
The Individualized Major Program (IMP) is an interdisciplinary program resulting in a B.A. from the College of Arts and Sciences. The IMP facilitates the creation of student-designed interdisciplinary majors whose primary emphasis is in the liberal arts. The IMP allows students with interests that cross traditional departmental and disciplinary boundaries to combine those interests in coherent and meaningful ways, building upon—and using in new ways—the resources available in the College, and bringing in expertise from the professional schools as needed.
Students develop majors in consultation with faculty sponsors and propose them to committees of two faculty members selected from the IMP's Faculty Committee (IMPFC). The IMPFC is responsible for ensuring that individualized majors are distinct from fields of study available in existing degrees and majors and that they conform to College and university standards of breadth, depth, and rigor. Approved majors normally combine courses from two or more College departments, and, as needed, from the professional schools, with independent and self-directed work. In addition to granting admission to the program, faculty committees work with sponsors to monitor students' progress, evaluate theses or projects, and administer final oral reviews. Each IMP major will include at least 18 credit hours of 300–400 level course work. Students in the IMP must fulfill the College requirements for the B.A. degree.
Students are eligible to apply for admission to the IMP after completing one IU semester with a GPA of 2.500 or higher, but they cannot be accepted to the IMP until they have been admitted to the College. Formal requirements for admission are otherwise the same as those for the College. Students who do not meet the GPA requirement, but who feel that their past grades do not accurately reflect their potential for success in the IMP, may request permission from the IMP director to go through the application process. Such permission allows the applicant, like other applicants, to present his or her case to an admission committee, but does not, of course, guarantee that the student will be accepted into the IMP. Students of any class standing or level of interest in the IMP are encouraged to meet with the Assistant Director and may arrange a meeting by calling (812) 855-9588 or e-mailing imp [at] indiana [dot] edu.
IMP students are eligible to take a second major in another department if the course credit is separate and distinct from the IMP concentration. Students in the IMP may graduate with honors if their GPA meets College honors standards and if their project work is deemed of honors quality by the IMP review committee.
Contact Information
Individualized Major Program
Indiana University
129 Ballantine Hall
Bloomington, IN 47405(812) 855-9588
imp [at] indiana [dot] edu