Special Major
Special Major
College of Arts and Sciences
275 Park Hall
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14261
Phone: 716.645.6883
Fax: 716.645.2893
Web: wings.buffalo.edu/cas/students/special_major
John Riszko
Senior Academic Advisor and Chair, Special Major Committee
About the Program
The Special Major Program was developed to provide capable students with an opportunity to create their own academic major program. Students initiate and develop their own programs under the guidance of two faculty members and an advisor, and then obtain permission from the Special Major Committee.
Although the special major is individualized and created by the student, there are several concentrations or themes that have emerged. Whereas these interdisciplinary themes do not yet correspond to any particular department, there are, nonetheless, impressive curricular and faculty resources to support them. Such concentrations include religious studies, nutrition, criminology, comparative literature, and arts management.
About Our Degrees
Acceptance Information
Students are urged to submit proposals in their junior year and no later than a full semester before graduation. Special majors in areas that require licensure or professional certification cannot be proposed. Most special majors reflect an inordinately high number of credits in the major. As an academic option within the College of Arts and Sciences, the special major must have a minimum of 36 credits supporting the major concentration. A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for special majors.
A special major student is one who has had the proposal approved by the Special Majors Committee. The committee evaluates proposals that have been submitted on the student’s behalf by the chair of the committee, a senior academic adviser in the Arts and Sciences Advisement Office in 275 Park Hall. Students interested in this option may consult the special major web site at http://www.cas.buffalo.edu/students/special_majors, where they may download the application and the advisement manual.
The Proposal
The special major proposal is a well thought out and deliberately formulated plan of study in which the student, in consultation with faculty sponsors, reflects and defines his or her educational objectives.
The special major integrates specific kinds of knowledge; it is not simply a collection of courses. When proposing a special major, a statement of intent and purpose must be written. This statement serves as the rationale for the individualized program of study. The statement should include biographical information that gives the committee an appreciation of the student’s motivation in selecting this degree option. The statement should also specify the unique ways in which the curricular resources of the university have been selected and combined in support of the proposed major. In short, the statement of intent and purpose gives the student an opportunity to highlight the major’s vocational/educational promise and potential.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 7-Nov-2006 10:26:16 EST