The student, with an advisor from each of the disciplines, designs her program of meaningful coursework and submits it for approval to the chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies major.

The student has the challenge of showing that her course of study cannot be met through an existing major at the university. Working with the advisors from the disciplines she has chosen, she will select a minimum of ten courses from each of the disciplines, including five upper level (300-400) courses in residence, of which at least one is a research methods class, and one an internship.

In her junior year, the student, with the help of her advisors, will select a research topic related to her course of study and complete a literature review. In the final semester, the student will submit a capstone portfolio, which includes the graded research paper as well as a journal and reflective paper evaluating her internship or co-op.