Customizing education in university studies
When most students come to NDSU, they choose a major and take the classes assigned to their major.
University studies offers students a different route than most majors by letting students choose what area they want to focus on and what classes they want to take.
Cody Crawford, a senior in university studies, began taking classes at NDSU in 2002.
After taking some time off to finish up a two-year degree at a tech school, Crawford said he wanted to come back to NDSU to finish up the last year of his bachelor’s degree.
Crawford said students majoring in university studies, choose which areas they would like to focus on;
Crawford is currently focusing on business and hospitality.
“I get to take what classes I want; there are no specific classes that I have to take,” Crawford said. “You can take classes you actually like and that you usually wouldn’t have time to try.”
Carolyn Schnell, director of university studies, said a major perk to being a university studies major is the degree will be unique to each individual student.
“The whole point is that students will have a focus or emphasis not available in another major,” Schnell said. “We have a students who are majoring in wedding planning, a family business and the military.”
Schnell said university studies is a major students should use to finish up their bachelor at NDSU.
“Students should enter the program as seniors who only have 30 credits left,” Schnell said. “You need to have a lot of your course work done, the last year of classes is when students take more specific courses that will pertain to their actual focus.”
Crawford said he enjoys the freedom to explore other majors and express his own interests.
Schnell said in most cases jobs require that students simply receive their bachelor’s degree, but not a specific major.
However, Schnell also wanted students to note the board must approve all course work first, before students can begin classes, and courses must be 300-400 level.
“It must be approved before midterm of the semester they plan to graduate,” Schnell said. “Students also must take a minimum of 15 credits per semester and may only have two semesters left.”
Schnell said sometimes the board would look at a proposal and decide the student may have overlooked an important class.
“We are supposed to stay in close contact with our advisor,” Crawford said. “They help put together the proposal and help with grammar and set up.”
Crawford said students will receive a packet on how to fill out the proposal, which will contain information like what classes a student plans on taking, the student’s purpose for choosing this program and what their focus will be.
Schnell said the board meets about three times per semester and about 30 to 40 students’ graduation per year.
“I think for me, it was a way to take the classes I need to and be done with college,” Crawford said. “Everyone in the college was very helpful in assisting me, outright.”