<p>I’ve been looking into LIU Global and University of the Atlantic, and I just wanted some opinions on non-traditional “make your own major” colleges vs the traditional declared major at a large state school (i.e. UMich, UWisc, UWash).
My long term goal is to become a librarian, and I was wondering if taking the non-traditional route will hinder my opportunities for grad school?</p>
<p>What kind of “grad school”?</p>
<p>If you mean library science and information graduate study, you may want to look up the admission requirements and expectations for such graduate programs on their web sites.</p>
<p>Everything I’ve seen about College of the Atlantic looks very good. You might also look at the Johnson Center at University of Redlands, and at Hampshire. Many colleges have a self designed major option. I’m not sure why you are directly comparing these small colleges with large state schools as if those where the only options?</p>
<p>Thank you, I do mean a Library Science Masters and I will look into that! @ucbalumnus
@Brownparent I am comparing these because the major direction I want to take of South Asian / International Studies is only found at these large state schools, or in the self designed major offered at the smaller schools. </p>
<p>Those smaller schools don’t seem like they would have the depth of class offerings and professors working in such a specific area. You didn’t mention that in your OP, so I wouldn’t recommend it for that. Often when you design your major you are looking for a creative or interdisciplinary approach to a subject, not something so plain vanilla. I don’t think that study is a strength they have. Use such a college for what they are strong in. When you look at colleges, sift through the curriculum and course offerings to make sure there are sufficient offerings in your area. You can’t do everything independent study.</p>
<p>Sample self define major/emphasis from Redlands, for example:</p>
<p>Race and Ethnic Studies, Identity and Media</p>
<p>Poetry and Movement: Arts, Expression, Meditation, and Healing</p>
<p>Climbing the Shoulders of Giants: Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science</p>
<p><a href=“The Page is Unavailable | University of Redlands”>The Page is Unavailable | University of Redlands;
<p>^Yes, I agree with BrownParent on this one. Colleges that allow you to design your own major really expose you more to breadth than depth. They’re amazing for a person who wants to combine multiple fields or take an interesting, unique perspective on a traditional field. If you wanted to do international studies at one of those, you probably could and enjoy it if you were okay with the idea of thinking about it very broadly (there may not be many offering in a specific geographic area, not enough to make a solid concentration).</p>
<p>Take a look at College of the Atlantic’s international studies courses: <a href=“http://www.coa.edu/international-studies.htm”>http://www.coa.edu/international-studies.htm</a>. Most are very broad. There are some scattered ones in certain geographic areas but not enough to make a concentration in any one. I see one class specifically on South Asia and another class that integrates a South Asian country with perspectives from two other East Asian countries.</p>
<p>But South Asian studies is a pretty deep field and you’ll need access to people with expertise in South Asian cultures, languages and literatures. The most obvious place to find those are large public universities. At a few elite or specialized smaller colleges you might also find them - either by chance or because they have a concentration in that area. But particularly if you think you might want to take a South Asian language (Hindi, Urdu, Marathi…? - and you should, if you want to study that area) you are going to want to find a school that offers that/those language(s), and that will be difficult at a very small place with a broader focus.</p>
<p>You might look into College of Wooster. It takes an undergrad research approach.
<a href=“http://www.wooster.edu/academics/catalogue/”>http://www.wooster.edu/academics/catalogue/</a></p>
<p>The thing about the non-traditional (design your own major) route is the, “unexpected”. You can go through 4 years and still do not get your self-designed curriculum approved for graduation. always something to add to make your track marketable…ie. if you are in a school that cares that much to see that you succeed when you graduate. Thus making you spend more years in school and that intend.
It is usually “safer” to stay on the traditional track, but not impossible to do the non-traditional either. You just have to find a professor/counselor/adviser that is willing to go that route with from your first semester so you are not wasting your time and resources.</p>
<p>In addition, you have to do your own homework on graduate schools that you are considering and see their requirements fro admission into the program.
below is the link for U Wisconsin School of Library and Information Science (SLIS);
<a href=“Information School < University of Wisconsin-Madison”>http://grad.wisc.edu/catalog/degrees_library.htm</a>
Best of luck.</p>
<p>At my school the self designed major’s curriculum must be approved before the applicant registers for classes, with the general curriculum plan in place prior to declaring the independent major. </p>
<p>^ Some students do not even Declare till their junior year… so… they can still take classes.</p>
<p>Some of the colleges with “self-designed” curricula have impressive records for graduate school admissions, on par with the most prestigious undergraduate colleges in the country. People enter the library science field from a broad spectrum of academic backgrounds. Some have more technical, computer-related, majors. Others had humanities majors, or even fine arts (specializing in preservation and restoration, for instance). I even think that graduate programs in library science often attract a lot of returning students, who might have either been raising families (I actually know of several women who spent years volunteering in school libraries, and wanted to re-enter the job market using that experience), working in non-remunerative jobs, or doing something that they felt might transition comfortably to the field. </p>