By Molly Burke / The Jambar
For some students at Youngstown State University, finding a major that’s right for them requires creativity and help from faculty members.
The Individualized Curriculum Program allows students to create their own unique major by combining two or three disciplines from different departments or colleges.
While usually only a few students pursue an ICP each semester, Kevin Ball, the associate provost of Academic Programs and Planning, said it’s beneficial for those interested in interdisciplinary studies.
“The ICP allows those students to craft a plan of study or educational roadmap that meets their specific needs,” Ball said. “It’s been really successful for the students who took advantage of that option.”
Senior Aubree Peterson-Spanard is studying archeoastronomy and museum studies — a combination of anthropology, astronomy and history. She plans to work in either planetariums or museums.
“I’ve always been a jack-of-all-trades, someone who’s always dabbling in different things. So, to me, it makes sense that I don’t fit a mold for a major here,” Peterson-Spanard said.
According to Ball, a student could create an ICP in any college, as long as there’s faculty to support it. However, some discipline specific programs — such as nursing — are unable to be combined into an ICP.
Linguistics professor Cynthia Vigliotti is an advisor for students pursuing ICPs involving linguistics. She said while ICP students have more flexibility with their curriculum, they still have to follow basic college requirements.
“Whatever is required for the regular Bachelor of Arts, for example in our college, would also be required for the ICP in terms of number of hours, in terms of general education requirements and things of that nature,” Vigliotti said.
The university doesn’t have a campus-wide policy for the program, but most colleges require a student to be a sophomore before declaring a ICP.
When it comes to creating curriculum, some colleges have students create a committee of faculty members to help them. Others require a department chair to select students’ coursework.
“What our students are looking to do is try to combine areas of interests … We have to try and be as flexible as possible with those,” Vigliotti said. “That may explain the lack of a greater umbrella system on campus to take care of things.”
ICP students also complete a capstone project during senior year. Vigliotti said the program allows students to be prepared for their careers.
“I know some students have expressed concern in terms of, ‘Will this transfer?’ ‘Will this be seen in such a way that it will be legit in terms of a major and an undergraduate degree?’ And it’s all of those things,” Vigliotti said. “We try to ensure that the student is at least exposed to some of the things that they might find either in the field or in their professional lives.”
Junior Curtis Nelson is pursuing an ICP in anthropological linguistics with plans to go to graduate school and eventually work in research. Nelson said the program allows students to have a personally tailored skill set.
“Not a lot of people going into grad school in my field have such a specific target or focus. So, if a school has a good program for either anthropology or linguistics, it sets you apart from other applicants. Having a degree you constructed yourself also stands out,” Nelson said.
YSU alumnus Erik Engartner graduated in 2019 after completing an ICP in tourism and event planning — a combination of geography business and hospitality. He then got a masters in urban planning from The Ohio State University and a masters in business from YSU.
“It helped me [with] all the degrees I ended up pursuing post grad,” Engartner said. “I was able to take what I learned from some of my business classes and the hospitality classes I had in my undergrad and apply it in the MBA, apply in the real world.”
Engartner is now a database coordinator for the YSU Foundation and runs an independent concert venue in Youngstown called The Wickyards.
“I am able to apply the business skill set to really anything just dealing with people — hospitality too,” Engartner said. “I’ve even found ways to incorporate map making into my current job [at the YSU Foundation]. So, geography played a role in that. It’s just about being versatile.”
Students interested in creating their own ICP can talk to their advisor.
