Engineering, history, education, math, biology, art. The list of more than 150 majors offered at the University of Oklahoma goes on and on. But some students have opted for a different path. In fact, some students have opted to, literally, create their own majors through the multidisciplinary studies program.

“A multidisciplinary studies degree will allow a student to essentially create their own major,” says Dr. Joyce Allman and assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “There is a degree check list that the students must follow, and a coherent theme or foundation must be present.”

Multidisciplinary students are still required to take the general courses that all students must take in order to graduate. They need to have 30 major hours and 40 upper division level hours with a grand total of 120 hours. Students who choose multidisciplinary studies are allowed freedom in picking their theme and putting classes together to create a major, but they are not allowed to simply take a variety of courses and throw them together into one major.

“Sometimes students just can’t find a major they want,” Allman says. “In fact, there was a student who wanted to major in neuroscience, but the University of Oklahoma did not offer this degree. So, this student found the course work at the University of Kansas and he was able to set up a comparable major through the multidisciplinary studies program.”

The degree is popular among medical students who use it to help them complete the requirements for medical school and their bachelor’s degree. In fact, some students are even able to get into medical school without having received their bachelor’s degree, so the multidisciplinary studies degree can be helpful.

“Students that go to medical school before getting their bachelor’s degree sometimes come back to the University of Oklahoma afterwards and use the multidisciplinary studies degree to become more educated,” Allman says. “These students realize that they want to be a well-educated student, not just a specialized student.”

Some medical students have found that the multidisciplinary studies degree serves as a good back up in case things don’t go their way in the medical field.

“I am applying to the [OU Health Sciences Center] for radiation therapy and stenography over [winter] break,” says Nicole Morris, multidisciplinary studies junior. “This field is really competitive with the Health Sciences Center only accepting 15 students with about 30 students or so applying. If I don’t get in, I will be able to use the science courses I have taken as a coherent theme to make up a multidisciplinary studies degree.”

Morris has fulfilled all her pre-requisite courses for admission to HSC, and she will spend two more years there if she is accepted. If she is not accepted, however, then she can still get her degree with the courses she has taken without losing all the hours she has worked for.

“They only allow you to apply to the Health Sciences Center once a year for the two fields that I am applying for, so if I don’t get in over the break, then this is probably it for me,” Morris says. “I had never heard of the multidisciplinary studies before my adviser told me about this, and I went in to be advised by Dr. Allman, and she was extremely helpful.”

Multidisciplinary studies is not limited to just the sciences, however. Other students work within their colleges to create their own major.

“They don’t really offer the degree that I want, which would be an electronic media degree, but I am under [Gaylord] College of Journalism as I try to write my own track,” says Kerry Wayne, journalism junior. “I am just trying to take as many classes involving Internet and computers as possible.”

Wayne came back to college after taking a couple of years off to travel and play music. While away, he ran across a program called Second Life that he says allows him to broadcast live music to people all over the world through his computer. Second Life is a virtual system that allows people to create their own character and visit different venues to interact with one another. This new system allows people to do anything from broadcasting music to advertising clothes, and it can translate into real money.

“There is actually a place online where people congregate, log into the server and listen to my shows,” Wayne says. “The owner of the [virtual] club pays me with the tips that people give me. There are probably only 500 people in the world that do what I do. I mean I love my job because I can do whatever I want.”

Wayne’s main reasoning for returning to OU was so he could expand his knowledge of electronic media. He says the multidisciplinary studies program allows him to take the classes that he feels will help him progress within his online profession. Wayne says he wants to improve his media abilities, and hopefully by creating his new personalized major, spread the word about Second Life.

“It is a creative thing that I want people to know about,” Wayne says. “If I could help to create a new degree that would ... last so that this program could grow, then I would really feel like I could leave my impression upon this university.”

Students like Wayne and Morris are creating their own majors and using the multidisciplinary studies track to their advantage.

“By using the multidisciplinary studies, these students are not limited to certain courses or programs,” Allman says. “As long as they have a coherent theme, students can take courses all across this university to make the major they want.”