New Programs

Proposing new academic programs

While the level of approval required to reach "final approval" varies by the type of academic program—be it a new degree, major (including tracks, concentrations, and specializations), minor, or certificate—all proposals for new academic programs are reviewed by the College's Committee for Undergraduate Education (CUE). If CUE approves the proposal, the College forwards it on to the next level of review.

  • Any new courses required for the proposed degree objective should have been approved or be in the course remonstrance process at the time a proposal is submitted
  • Degree objectives may NOT be advertised until final approval has been obtained
  • Because approval levels vary by degree objective, do NOT combine proposals (do not, for instance, combine a proposal for a new major with a proposal for new minor)

  • Proposals can take up to 12 months to receive final approval
  • While there is never a guarantee of the timeline on which a proposal for a new degree, major, certificate, minor,or other degree objective will achieve final approval, proposals that follow the College’s procedures and are submitted by the priority dates will have a reasonable chance of attaining final approval in time to be offered for the next academic year.
  • New degree objectives must receive final approval by May 5 in order to be offered for the upcoming academic year (see Priority Dates for Proposals below)

Proposal process

Once a unit decides that they wish to develop a proposal for a new degree objective, a unit administrator (Associate Dean, Chair/Director, or Director of Undergraduate Studies) should send an email to Assistant Dean Justin Grossman containing a brief summary of the unit's intentions.

This step is important, as it can help identify potential problems before unit faculty and administrators invest a substantial amount of time in developing a proposal.

Unit faculty and administrators develop the proposal. The proposal must secure the approval of the unit per the governance policies and procedures of the unit. If the unit is part of a College school (Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture, and Design; Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies; or Media School), the proposal must obtain approval at the school level before being routed to the College.

Once the proposal has obtained unit (and, if necessary, school) approval, a unit administrator should send the proposal to Associate Dean Rich Hardy and Assistant Dean Justin Grossman. The proposal must include the following:

  • Cover letter from school dean or associate dean/department chair or director of undergraduate studies/program director addressed to Rich Hardy, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education indicating the academic program being proposed and that the proposal has secured unit approval
  • Proposal form (see below; submit the MS Word version, NOT a PDF version)
    • Main form
    • Appendices (detailed requirements, courses, and letters of support)

Prior to being scheduled for consideration by the Committee for Undergraduate Education, the Office of Undergraduate Curriculum, Policy, and Records reviews the proposal for any significant issues. Units are generally given an opportunity to address these issues prior to CUE review.

Note: If new courses are needed for the curriculum, those should be proposed prior to or at the same time as the academic program proposal is submitted to the College.

The Committee for Undergraduate Education reviews proposals. The Office of Undergraduate Curriculum, Policy, and Records forwards approved proposals on for the next level of review. OUCPR will inform units when the proposal receives final review.

Once a proposal attains final approval, the Office of Undergraduate Curriculum, Policy, and Records will queue it for inclusion in the next publication of requirements in the College of Arts and Sciences Bulletin. Academic programs must obtain final approval prior to May 1 to be included. Otherwise, the program cannot be officially offered or declared by students until the following May. OUCPR will also build the Academic Advisement Report and Degree Map (if necessary) for the academic program.

Minimum requirements by academic program type

All B.A., B.S. and B.F.A. undergraduate degree programs in the College must:

  1. Be 120 credit hours, including:
    • At least 36 credit hours at the 300–400 level for B.S. degrees; 42 for B.A. and B.F.A. degrees
    • At least 100 credit hours must be earned in courses offered by the College of Arts and Sciences
  2. Meet the minimum requirements for the Campus-wide General Education Common Ground requirements
  3. Include College of Arts and Sciences Education (CASE) requirements, including the following (one course in each area/subarea unless otherwise noted):
    1. CASE Foundations
      1. English Composition
      2. Mathematical Modeling
    2. CASE Critical Approaches to the Arts and Sciences
    3. CASE Public Oral Communication
    4. CASE Intensive Writing
    5. CASE Breadth of Inquiry*
      1. Arts and Humanities (4 courses)
      2. Social and Historical Studies (4 courses)
      3. Natural and Mathematical Sciences (4 courses)
    6. CASE Foreign Language*
      • Equivalent of the second semester of the second year of college-level study
    7. CASE Culture Studies*
      1. Diversity in the United States
      2. Global Civilizations and Cultures
  4. Have a major component (see below)

Additional policies will apply to students pursuing College degrees. 

*The College allows for some modification of 3e-g above for B.S. degrees in order to allow additional work in the major.

B.S. and B.F.A. majors require at least 30 credit hours in the major; there is no maximum number of hours, but the major and the above requirements must be reasonably achieved in 120 credit hours. The following also apply to the major component of the degree:

  • A grade of C– or higher must be earned in order to count the course toward a major requirement. 
  • The grade point average of all courses taken in the major must be at least 2.000.
  • At least 18 credit hours in the major on the Bloomington campus.
  • Courses taken to satisfy the Foundations requirement in English Composition may not be applied toward a major requirement.

The major component of B.A. degree must meet the following requirements:

  1. A minimum of 30 and a maximum of 42 credit hours
  2. At least 18 credit hours at the 300–400 level
  3. At least 18 credit hours in the major on the Bloomington campus
  4. Courses taken to satisfy the Foundations requirement in English Composition may not be applied toward a major requirement
  5. A grade of C– or higher must be earned in order to count the course toward a major requirement 
  6. The grade point average of all courses taken in the major must be at least 2.000

Additional policies will apply to students pursuing College majors. 

Concentrations and Specializations are generally at least 9 credit hours, usually at the upper level.

There are two types of certificates:

  • Stand Alone Certificate: a certificate that can be pursued on its own without pursuing or having completed a baccalaureate degree
  • Area Certificate: a certificate that is only awarded along with a baccalaureate degree or after a baccalaureate degree has been earned 

The College only offers Area Certificates at the undergraduate level. 

College certificates require:

  1. At least 21 credit hours; certificates should not exceed 29 credit hours
  2. At least 9 credit hours at the 300–400 level
  3. At least 9 credit hours in the certificate in courses on the Bloomington campus
  4. Courses taken to satisfy the Foundations requirement in English Composition may not be applied toward a certificate requirement
  5. A grade of C– or higher must be earned in order to count the course toward a certificate requirement 
  6. The grade point average of all courses taken in the certificate must be at least 2.000

Additional policies will apply to students pursuing College certificates. 

College minors require:

  1. At least 15 credit hours; minors should not exceed 21 credit hours
  2. At least 9 credit hours at the 300–400 level
  3. At least 9 credit hours in the minor in courses on the Bloomington campus
  4. Courses taken to satisfy the Foundations requirement in English Composition may not be applied toward a minor requirement
  5. A grade of C– or higher must be earned in order to count the course toward a minor requirement 
  6. The grade point average of all courses taken in the minor must be at least 2.000

Additional policies will apply to students pursuing College minors.