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Individualized Studies

Bachelor of Arts

Major

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Chart Your Own Course

The Individualized Studies, B.A. at Miami University is a flexible, interdisciplinary degree designed for students who want to create a customized college major aligned with their academic interests and career goals. Working closely with dedicated faculty advisers, you’ll design your own plan of study that brings together courses from multiple disciplines across the university.

This degree culminates in a self-designed project that positions you for entry into graduate school or the workplace.

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Curriculum and Courses

The major is designed for flexibility so you can develop your own course of study. In your first year, you will begin with an introductory writing-intensive course and another on interdisciplinary inquiry. You will also concentrate on the Miami Plan, a well-rounded course of study that provides you with an excellent liberal arts education. Through the Miami Plan, you will get a solid base in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, fine arts, and formal reasoning. You will be able to explore many of your academic interests, and begin to think about how you want to integrate them.

  • WST 251 Individualized Studies Seminar
  • WST 301 Interdisciplinary Problems
  • WST 421 Proposal Workshop
Full Course List

Individualized Studies Learning Outcomes

  • Address complex questions through self-directed creative inquiry;
  • Understand the value of interdisciplinary research;
  • Show excellence in writing
P1318 Jack Ackerman student profile

My Individualized Studies major allows me to take an interdisciplinary perspective on all I do, giving me the ability to take in key concepts from a variety of disciplines and apply them to any situation.

Aiyana White ’23

Individualized Studies

Senior Project Examples

Classes taught by Western Program faculty engage students in interdisciplinary thinking and form a foundation for individualized and integrated study that draws from the humanities, sciences, arts, social sciences, and professional programs.

Students have designed senior projects in such categories as:

  • New Approaches in Counterterrorism
  • Global Fashion Design
  • The Media and Body Image
  • Diversity in Leadership
  • Sustainable Business Integration
  • Interactive Storytelling

Western Center for Social Impact and Innovation Here

The Western Center for Social Impact and Innovation is Miami’s interdisciplinary hub for student engagement with issues of social justice within the context of global change. Programming through the Western Center encourages students and faculty from every subject area to explore complex questions.

Western Center

Careers in Individualized Studies

The Individualized Studies major is suited for students interested in careers in diverse fields. Career examples from recent graduates include:

  • Brewer at Terrapin Beer Company
  • Cyber Threat Technologist at Booz Allen Hamilton
  • Spanish Literacy Promoter in the Peace Corps
  • Teaching Fellow at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
  • Reporter for The Washington Post
  • Graduate student in programs in law school, nursing, social work, student affairs, and creative nonfiction

Career Options

Your degree will give you a strong background in analysis, critical thinking, and problem-solving, setting you up for success regardless of the direction you decide to take. Upon graduation, you might head off to a graduate program, seek work in a non-profit organization or a corporate setting, spend several years working for Teach for America, Americorps, or the Peace Corps, or start your own enterprise as a marketer or an entrepreneur. Recent graduates have secured positions in environmental education, journalism, cybersecurity, the craft beer industry, sustainable business development, and social services. Others have pursued graduate degrees in business, law, health professions, creative writing, and higher education.

Facts and Stats

Your college experience here will be one of the most exciting times of your life. To make sure of this, we’ll provide you with a powerful support system.

90%

First-to-second year retention

Miami University Data

12th

Among Public Universities in the United States for Four-Year Graduation Rate (and No. 1 in Ohio)

The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac

No. 6

Public university in the U.S. for long-term career success

LinkedIn Best Colleges 2025

Related Programs

Miami students are an eclectic mix of thinkers, doers, leaders and followers, introverts and extroverts, authors, painters, climbers, coders, pianists, philanthropists, and gamers. Just to name a few.

Customize your education to do more, see more, be more.
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Admission and Aid

Explore what it means to be a college student at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where students prepare to go anywhere and everywhere. We’ll be here to help every step of the way as you prepare for college admission, enrollment, and success.

Contact Us

Undergraduate Admission

513-529-2531
[email protected]

Western Program

Zackary Hill
Lead Departmental Advisor
Peabody Hall 114
701 Western College Dr.
Oxford, OH 45056

[email protected]
513-529-3796