BDIC

BDIC (Bachelor's Degree with Individual Concentration) is the interdisciplinary and indivdiualized major at UMass Amherst. Founded in 1970 by Arthur Kinney, the major has produced a wide variety of successful alumni in many different fields, including creative writing, high-tech entrepreneurship, and politics.

BDIC alumni include Jan Schlichtman, the public interest lawyer portrayed by John Travolta in the film, "A Civil Action" and Tom Benedek, the screenwriter for "Free Willy" and other Hollywood films. Peter Manseau, another BDIC graduate, is a successful novelist who received the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction in 2008.

Students in BDIC create their own major, known as a "concentration." A great deal of initiative and self-motivation is needed to envision and follow through on an individualized concentration. Recent concentration titles include "Sustainable Building and Design," "Entrepreneurship and Information Technology," "Animal Behavior," and "Neuroscience, Society, and Human Behavior."

The proposed concentration should be significantly different from all existing majors. Certain interdisciplinary majors are already offered, such as "Linguistics and Anthropology" through the Linguistics Department or "Interior Design" through the Art Department.

[edit] Rules of BDIC

To complete a major in BDIC, students must take 12 upper-level classes (300-level or higher) related to their field, totaling at least 36 credits. Students must get a grade of C or better in any class in order to count it.

Up to 18 credits of internships and independent studies can be counted for BDIC; up to 6 of internship and up to 12 of independent studies.

BDIC students must be in the major for at least four semesters. This can include summer (if a full semester's worth of classes are taken), but not winter.

Students are allowed one retroactive semester. This means that up to three classes can be counted from the semester directly prior to the semester when the student takes Proposal Writing (BDIC 396P). These three classes must meet the other requirements of BDIC (i.e. 300-level or above, grade of C or better, related to the field). No more than three classes or nine credits can be counted.

Classes must come from at least three different departments; more is preferred. Students are encouraged to count Five College classes, study abroad, and domestic exchange towards their concentrations.

The final requirement for graduation from BDIC is a Senior Summary and Abstract. For May graduation, Senior Summaries are due on April 1.

[edit] How to Apply

Acceptance into the major is based on a proposal of approximately 6-10 pages where the students describes their goals for the concentration, potential careers, and their relevant background. In the proposal, students also select the twelve classes which will comprise their curriculum over the next four semesters.

The proposal is written during a proposal writing class (BDIC 396P), which meets once a week. A portion of the proposal will be due each week, and returned to the student after it has been edited by a Peer Advisor. Each student is assigned a Peer Advisor who will assist in the proposal-writing process. Peer Advisors can also assist with choosing classes, sponsors, and all sorts of other concerns.

Enrollment in Proposal Writing (BDIC 396P) is competitive. Only 75 slots are available each semester for undergraduates interested in applying to BDIC. To enroll, students must fill out an application and write out an essay then return it to the BDIC office in 608 Goodell.

For more information about applying to the major, call the office at 545-2504 and schedule an appointment with a Peer Advisor.

[edit] Sponsors

Each BDIC student must have a sponsor. The sponsor is a faculty person from one of the Five Colleges with a rank of lecturer or higher. Ideally, the sponsor should be in the field the student is interested in, as well as someone the student feels comfortable talking with.

Examples of popular BDIC sponsors include John Gerber, Beverly Woolf, and Don Levine.

Sponsors msut approve the concentration proposal. They can be helpful in getting internships, research assistantships, or doing independent studies. For example, a former BDIC student concentrating in "Childen's Television" got internships with Nickelodeon and Sesame Street through her sponsor.

Sponsors can also be helpful in course selection, as well as getting into classes in competitive departments (e.g. art, communications, theatre).

[edit] Junior Year Writing

Junior Year Writing is required of all BDIC students, and it cannot count as one of the twelve classes towards the major.

However, there are many options available to satisfy the junior year writing requirement:

• BDIC Junior Year Writing (BDIC 496C)

This is a very popular class, because it is the only chance to have a course with all BDIC majors other than Proposal Writing. In this course, students spend the first part of the semester learning the basics that are useful in all fields (e.g. resumes, cover letters). The last part of the semester is spent on a project that is directly related to the student's field. Students enrolled in BDIC Junior Year Writing during the spring semester are automatically included in the Spring Projects Fair; students taking Junior Year Writing in the fall semester can particupate in the Spring Projects Fair if space allows.

• Junior Year Writing from another department

Another option for BDIC students is to do the Junior Year Writing class from one of the departments they are drawing from for their concentration. This is attractive to many students because it allows them to do writing in their field.

• Another intensive writing course

In certain situations, an intensive writing course like Technical Writing or Creative Writing can be used to satisfy junior year writing for BDIC students. This decision is made by the Coordinator of BDIC.

[edit] Senior Summary and Abstract

The Senior Summary is the final requirement for graduation from the BDIC program. The Summary is essentially the proposal in reverse; rather than saying what classes the students plan to take, what they will learn, and how it will be important, the Senior Summary says what classes the students took, what they learned, how it was relevant, and how it matched with their expectations of what the course would entail.

The purpose of the Senior Summary is to reflect on your career in BDIC. What pitfalls were encountered? What experiences turned out to be valuable? Which courses would you recommend to future students? Which classes should be avoided? The Summary should also include information about the central ideas and goals of your concentration.

If you know what you are going to do after graduation (e.g. specific job, graduate school) and it is related to your concentration, it is a good idea to include this information. Explain how your concentration has prepared you for this particular path, or how it has prepared you for a potential path you hope to pursue if you have not yet made decisions about graduate school.

The Senior Abstract is a one-page document attached at the front of the Senior Summary. It consists of a brief explanation of your concentration (no more than two paragraphs) and a list of the relevent courses you have taken. This should include, at a minimum, the twelve courses you used for BDIC. It can also include pre-requisites for those courses, relevent electives, courses from another major or minor, or internships and independent studies you did beyond the BDIC credit limits.

The Abstract is often sent with resumes or applications to explain what exactly the concentration was, since employers and graduate schools won't otherwise know exactly what it is that you studied in school.

For help with writing the Senior Summary and Abstract, you can call the office at 545-2504 to make an appointment with Andrea Bergstrom. Examples of past Senior Summaries and Abstracts are available in the office.

[edit] BDIC Staff

Director: Daniel Gordon

Coordinator: Linda Roney

Supervisor of Education and Human Services, Director: Jose Ornelas

Supervisor of Arts and Cultural Studies: Alexandrina Deschamps

Supervisor of Communications: Henry Geddes Gonzalez

Supervisor of Business and Law: M.J. Alhabeeb

Supervisor of Natural Health and Computer Science: David Kastor

Office Manager: Joyce Mazeski

Junior Year Writing Instructor: Rob Weir

BDIC also has six student "peer advisors" who are available to take inquiries and assist students in many situations.