To participate in the Student-Designed Major program, you must submit a proposal to your SDM committee no later than the spring semester of your sophomore year. Students who study abroad in the Spring semester of their sophomore can opt for an extended deadline of October 1st, providing they have another declared major.

Each student candidate has a committee comprised of your two faculty advisors, and two College administrators including the Associate Dean of Faculty. Your proposal will contain the following: an intellectual rationale, and a semester-by-semester plan detailing your courses. Once submitted, your SDM committee will discuss the proposal and can approve it, suggest revisions, or reject it. Once the proposal is approved, it is sent to the College Curriculum Committee for final approval.

As with all other majors at Saint Mary’s, you will complete the Advanced Writing and senior comprehensive requirements. In addition, the SDM requires that you take at least eight upper level courses. You will complete 30 credit hours in upper level courses, including at least 24 hours at the 300 and 400 levels.