A liberal arts education is a process of learning to ask and answer complex questions. The Independently Designed Major (IDM) allows highly motivated and self-directed students to pursue the questions about which they are most passionate when those questions cannot be pursued in the context of current CC majors.

IDM students epitomize the intentional intellectual engagement at the core of a liberal arts education. The IDM requires that students articulate the major concepts, theories, and methods that will frame and give shape to their own process of inquiry. The IDM is also explicitly interdisciplinary in nature. IDM students are expected to put two different disciplines into meaningful conversation with one another, as well as to synthesize and apply knowledge gained to a question or problem of unique interest to them.

To begin the process to becoming an IDM student, you first should start by reflecting on your own learning: what questions do you want to answer? What do you need to know to answer these questions? Can you effectively ask and answer these questions in an existing major at CC?