Office:
Craven Hall, Sixth Floor

Telephone:
(760) 750-4105

Programs Offered:

• Bachelor of Arts in Special Major

The Special Major allows highly motivated students the opportunity to develop an individualized program of study that cannot be realized within a single academic discipline or available major.  The special major consists of a closely monitored pro­gram of study in two or more disci­plines.  The program is developed in consul­tation with a Faculty Guidance Committee specifically formed of mem­bers of respective academic areas in the student’s program and is super­vised by a faculty advisor, who serves as chair of the com­mittee.  The program must be approved by the Dean of a College in coordination with the student’s Faculty Guidance Committee.

Requirements for the Major

1. The student must have com­pleted the equivalent of one full-time semester of academic work at Cal State San Marcos and have a grade point average of 2.5 or higher in all work completed at this University.
2. At least thirty (30) semester units must remain to be com­pleted to meet the minimum degree require­ments for a Bachelor’s Degree. 
3. The Special Major Program consists of forty (40) semester units.  A minimum of twenty-four (24) units must be com­pleted at the upper-division level [with nine to twelve (9-12) upper-division units in each area of study selected].
4. Courses taken for lower-division or upper-division General Education credit may not be counted toward the special major.
5. Up to six (6) units may be satisfied in field-based course­work such as inde­pendent study, internships, community work, and supervised work experience.
6. Each student must complete a capstone project.
7. The Faculty Guidance Committee and the Dean will review all proposals.

Restrictions in the Major

1. The Special Major cannot duplicate any existing majors offered at Cal State San Marcos.
2. The Special Major is not designed for students who have been unsuccessful in other programs, and it may not be used as a second major (double major) or a second bachelor’s degree.
3. The Special Major Program must be a coherent sequence of courses developed in consultation with the student’s Faculty Guidance Committee.

Application to the Major

Students interested in the Special Major must contact a faculty advisor in any of the University’s academic major areas or the Advising Coordi­nator in the College of Arts and Sciences.  With the aid of the faculty advisor, students must select a Faculty Guidance Committee formed of two or more faculty mem­bers. The stu­dent’s individualized program plan is then developed in consul­tation with the Faculty Guidance Committee and is sub­mitted to the appropriate college dean for ap­pro­val.  The Dean, in consulta­tion with the student’s Faculty Gui­dance Committee, reviews and decides on the student’s program plan.

 

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN  SPECIAL MAJOR

Graduation Requirements

Units
General Education 51
Major Requirements40
Students must take a sufficient
number of elective units
to bring the total number of
units to a minimum of120