Independent Majors in the School of Foreign Service

There are rare cases in which a student has received permission to pursue an independent major that does not fall under the jurisdiction of one of the seven major field committees. Such cases require a detailed description of the plan of study and approval by at least two faculty members and the Director of the Undergraduate Program before they may be considered by the Standards Committee, which makes the final decision on the proposal.

Independent majors must be approved by the Standards Committee before the end of junior year.

Students pursuing independent majors may participate in the SFS honors program by completing a one-semester honors tutorial and writing an honors thesis. As in established majors, honors candidates in independent majors must attain a cumulative GPA of 3.33 and 3.67 in the major by the time of graduation. A thesis proposal and confirmation of mentoring must be submitted to the SFS Dean's Office by March 1 of the student's junior year. The proposal is evaluated by a committee consisting of the proposed mentor, an assistant or associate dean, and other faculty as appropriate. Students in independent majors are not automatically allowed to pursue honors work; the quality of the proposal must meet the high standards set for regular majors. Students accepted for honors candidacy register for a special thesis tutorial with the mentor in the spring of the senior year, and receive a total of 3 credits for the honors program. The thesis is then judged by a committee consisting of the mentor and at least one other faculty member