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Components of a Degree
General Education | Degree Requirements | Major Requirements | Electives | Other
Major Requirements
A major is a field of study in which a student specializes. Most majors are offered by individual departments within the school or college and much, but not all, of the required coursework is taught by faculty in that department. (For example, a major in Management requires completion of many management courses, but also some accounting, economics, finance and marketing courses.)
Other majors are interdisciplinary in nature and the required coursework is provided by several different departments. (For example, a major in Women Studies requires completion of courses focusing on women's history and concerns, but the courses themselves might be taught by faculty in History, or English, or Sociology, or Nursing or something else.)
Both types of majors, departmental and interdisciplinary programs, have specific course requirements that often include a sampling or distribution of coursework covering the different aspects of that field of study (e.g., a psychology major might take some psychology courses studying abnormal behavior, others studying normal human development, and yet others the cognitive processing of information).
Most departments require increasing depth of study in the area of specialization. That is, some of the major courses will be broad and introductory while others will be highly specialized and narrowly focused.
In addition, all MU degrees require two additional components for graduation:
- The completion of a capstone course or experience that organizes or uses the material learned in prior major courses.
- A Writing Intensive course, numbered 3000 or above, in the major that helps the student think and communicate clearly about content in the major.
Students should always check with their academic advisor and also refer to the Undergraduate Catalog and to Degree Program guides to make sure they understand major requirements.
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