The University College - The University of Memphis

Design your own degree

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING
YOUR BACCALAUREATE CONTRACT

Page 1 : The Contract Cover Sheet

• Coordinated Study Title : The title you choose for your coordinated study (major) should describe the interdisciplinary major you have designed. For example, if your coordinated study combines political science and engineering, your coordinated study title might be called "Political Engineering." The full name of your degree would be: " Bachelor of Professional Studies with a concentration in Political Engineering ." The name you give your coordinated study must be different from any other major offered at The University of Memphis.

• Catalog Year : Effective Fall 2004, the university's general education requirements were shortened and simplified for the 2004-2005 Undergraduate Catalog. Some students may have completed their general education courses under the old general education requirements set forth in previous catalogs; consequently, they may choose to use those courses in the manner they were intended. Indicate whether you want to come under the new general education requirements by entering "2004-2005"; otherwise, enter the academic year for an earlier catalog.

• BPS or BLS : If your coordinated study combines courses from departments which traditionally prepare their graduates for specific professions such as nursing, engineering, business, etc., you would check (v) the BPS (Bachelor of Professional Studies) option.

If your coordinated study combines courses from departments which focus on the humanities such as Judaic Studies, literature, art, music appreciation, etc., you would check (v) the BLS (Bachelor of Liberal Studies) option. If your coordinated study combines courses that meet the requirements above for the BPS and BLS, select either option.

• The degree plan outlined in your baccalaureate contract must be as valid and academically sound as any other degree offered by The University of Memphis; consequently, your baccalaureate contract goes through three levels of approval to ensure its academic integrity.

• Approval Level One : Your faculty chair and faculty member(s) who make up your faculty committee must sign your baccalaureate contract indicating approval .

• Your faculty committee members must teach courses in the two or more departments which make up the upper-division courses in your coordinated study.

• The members of your faculty committee must not be members of the same or similar department or discipline. (For example, your faculty committee cannot be comprised of a faculty member from Social Work and the other from Sociology nor can your committee be comprised solely of faculty from Exercise and Sport Science or Human Movement Sciences and Education. These disciplines are too closely-related to be considered different).

• Approval Level Two : Once the faculty committee signs the contract indicating approval, your contract must be sent to University College for preliminary review and forwarding to the University College Faculty Council Review Committee for consideration. The review committee may approve or reject your contract as presented. The contract will be returned to University College, and you will be contacted if your contract was rejected. Typically, if a contract is rejected, the review committee will make written recommendations for improvement.

• Approval Level Three : Once Level One and Level Two approval signatures are obtained, the assistant dean for undergraduate programs will review the contract and consider it for final approval.

Page 2 : Academic Goal Statement

• This is where you state how your proposed degree will enable you to realize your personal and/or professional goals.

• The most deadly errors that have resulted in the rejection of contracts occur in the Academic Goal Statement. Such errors include:

• A clear demonstration that the student has not thought about his/her career goals and merely wants to combine a mass of college credits in order to get a degree.

• Typographical errors

• Vague and convoluted sentences

• Use of sentence fragments

Page 3 : General Education and University-Wide Course Requirements

• This page must be completed in its entirety.

• In order to accurately complete this page, secure a copy of your transcript from the Registrar's Office in 003 Wilder Tower.

• Courses that meet general education requirements can be found at: http://academics.memphis.edu/gened/GeneralEducationProg.htm

• Courses that meet university-wide, intensive course requirements can be found at: http://academics.memphis.edu/gened/WCI.htm

• UNIV 4995 - Senior Project must be taken to meet the integrative course requirement.

Page 4 : Coordinated Study Courses Listing

• The coursework to be included in your coordinated study (interdisciplinary major) must be decided in consultation with your faculty committee on the basis of your academic and professional goals.

• Courses to be included :

• Include all courses relevant to your coordinated study: upper and lower-division, transfer credit, courses you have taken, and courses you plan to take.

• Include the titles of internships and independent studies so that their content will be known.

• Group courses by area or department.

• Do not include the senior project, general education courses, or thematic studies courses that you have listed on page 6 of your contract.

• Basic Requirements for Coordinated Study

. Each course in your coordinated study must have been successfully completed with a grade of "C-" or better.

• Your coordinated study must include a minimum of 33 upper-division hours (3000-4000 level) from at least two different disciplines; there is no maximum limit.

Page 5 : Coordinated Study Justification Statement

• This page is where you will specifically state how each course or groups of courses within your coordinated study will provide the academic competencies that you seek.

• This is another area where errors result in the rejection of the student's baccalaureate contract. Such errors include:

• Typographical errors

• Vague and convoluted sentences

• Use of sentence fragments

Page 6 : Thematic Studies, Project Planning Seminar, Senior Project, and General Electives Course Listing

Thematic Studies : These are interdisciplinary courses which address significant problems, themes, or ideas.

• University College offers these courses every term on various topics.

• Course descriptions for thematic studies courses can be found at: http://www.uc.memphis.edu/thematic-courses.php

• Transfer credits sought to be used to meet the thematic studies requirement are not typically accepted.

• Thematic studies courses are numbered as: UNIV 3500-3599, UNIV 4500-4599; CSED 4300; CSED 4205; CSED 4304; or PHIL 3514.

• The same course may not be used to meet the six credit-hour thematic study requirement and also be used in your coordinated study.

• UNIV 3580 and UNIV 3581 may, however, be used for both the general education humanities requirement and the thematic studies requirement.

Project Planning Seminar and the Senior Project :

• UNIV 4990 - Project Planning Seminar is used to develop a plan for completing the senior project.

• When the Project Planning Seminar is completed successfully, you will have an approved Senior Project Proposal and you may then request a permit to register for UNIV 4995- Senior Project.

. The senior project is completed during your final semester prior to graduation.

. If your senior project is not a research paper but is primarily performance based or visual, you must also complete a reflective paper which describes the methodology you used to complete your senior project.

General Electives : These are courses which are typically unrelated to your Coordinated Study and not intended to meet general education or thematic studies requirements.

Page 7 : Requirements for Graduation Checklist

• Must be signed acknowledging understanding of the stated guidelines and policies