MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDIES CHECKSHEET AND APPLICATION GUIDE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BACHELOR OF ARTS

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
Academic Year General Requirements Program
Minimum Total Credit Hours ............................................................................................................... 120
Minimum Upper-Division Hours ........................................................................................................... 48 Multidisciplinary Studies
For Students Entering the Oklahoma
Major Hours ............................................................................................................................................... 30
State System for Higher Education B700
Minimum Retention/Graduation Grade Point Averages:
Summer 2023 through Spring 2024
Overall - Combined and OU ................................................................................................................ 2.00 Bachelor of Arts
Major - Combined and OU .................................................................................................................. 2.00
Or Science (B701)
OU encourages students to complete at least 30 hours of applicable coursework each year to have the opportunity to graduate in 4 years.

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
• Some courses required for the major may also fulfill University General Education
Courses for fulfillment of General Education requirements must be from the approved General
Requirements.
Education course list published in the Class Schedule or at http://www.ou.edu/content/gened/
courses.html. Courses graded P/NP will not apply. Every candidate for this degree must select a major theme, which is a set of courses that meets the
student's professional and personal goals. These courses must total a minimum of 30 credit hours,
University-Wide General Education (minimum 40 hours) with a minimum of 18 hours completed at the upper-division level (3000-4000-level).
Code Title Credit Hours Courses should be selected in consultation with an MDS advisor to submit a Proposed Plan of
Core Area I: Symbolic and Oral Communication Study and MDS Questionnaire to the Senior Vice Provost. MDS Plan of Study should include at
English Composition minimum the courses required by two minors or concentrations.
ENGL 1113 Principles of English Composition 3
More information in the catalog: (http://ou-public.courseleaf.com/
ENGL 1213 Principles of English Composition 3
academic-affairs/multidisciplinary-studies-bachelor-arts/).
or EXPO 1213 Expository Writing
Language
(0-10 hours, 2 courses in the same language) May be met by successful completion
of 2 years of the same language in high school INFORMATION CONCERNING GENERAL RULES,
Beginning Course 0-5 REGULATIONS AND MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Beginning Course, continued 0-5 Upper-Division Hours: A minimum of 48 upper-division semester hours acceptable toward
Mathematics graduation must be completed. OU courses numbered 3000 or above are upper-division. Transfer
Choose one course 3 work is counted as lower-division or upper-division credit depending on the level at which it was
offered at the institution where it was earned. Two-year college work is accepted only as lower-
Core Area II: Natural Science division credit.
Choose 2 courses from different disciplines, including one laboratory component 7 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science Hours: At least 80 semester hours of liberal arts and
Core Area III: Social Science sciences courses are required for a BA degree. At least 55 semester hours of liberal arts and sciences
P SC 1113 American Federal Government 3 courses are required for a BS degree.
Major Work: A minimum of 30 credit hours, with a minimum of 18 hours completed at the upper-
Choose one course 3 division level (3000-4000 level).
Core Area IV: Arts and Humanities Pass/No Pass Enrollment: A maximum of 16 semester hours of free elective credit may be
Artistic Forms attempted under this option.
Choose one course 3 Individual Studies (e.g., courses titled “Independent Study”): A maximum of 12 total semester
hours may be counted toward graduation, excluding Honors Reading and Honors Research.
Western Culture P.E. Courses: No physical education activity courses will be counted toward the 120 semester hours
HIST 1483 United States to 1865 3 of acceptable credit for graduation.
or HIST 1493 United States, 1865 to the Present Senior Institution Hours: A minimum of 60 semester hours applied toward graduation must be
3 earned at senior (4-year) institutions.
Choose one course 1 Residency:
World Culture
Choose one course 3 • At least 15 of the final 30 hours applied toward the degree or at least 50 percent of the hours
required in the major field must be satisfactorily completed a t O U .
Core Area V: First Year Experience (3 hours)
Choose one course 3 • At least 15 semester hours of upper-division major work must be completed in residence at
OU.
Total Credit Hours 47
• Credits earned via examination are neither resident nor nonresident credit.
1Excluding HIST 1483 and HIST 1493. Grade Point Averages: Students must earn a minimum overall 2.00 for each of the following:
Combined Retention GPA (all college grades), OU Retention GPA, GPA for all major courses, and
GPA for all major courses taken at OU.
One of the courses (minimum 3 credit hours) used to satisfy General Education Requirements
must be at the upper-division level and outside of the student’s major.
Courses chosen to represent the major you design will be
FREE ELECTIVES
Electives to bring total applicable hours to the minimum total required for the degree including 48
submitted by application to your advisor through email
upper-division hours. (fill out the application and attach the form) with "New
MDS application" in the subject line.. Once your advisor
has informed you that you design is approved by the
provost, you commit to fulfilling the requirements you
Remember that one gen ed course upper division
chose like any other major. All courses approved must be
course cannot be used in the group of courses you list
completed with a passing grade. Course substitutions may
for major requirements
be proposed if you cannot enroll or complete a course that
was approved on the application. The Provost denies or
approves all substitutions. Any substitution requests are
sent through email to your advisor along with the new
course subject, number, name, which course you are
substituting it for, and the reason for the substitution.
 Application Guidelines and Tips
(Do not use or submit the guideline form for your application). Application can be found:
https://www.ou.edu/content/dam/cas/docs/mds/MDS-Major_Application.pdf
Academic Affairs
Note that you can change your major to MDS before
Multidisciplinary Studies Major
submitting and getting an application approved. The
The University of Oklahoma
Ellison Hall, Room 124 ideal date to submit an application is after enrolling in
633 Elm Avenue your last semester in consideration of timelines for
Norman, OK 73019 approval (6 to 8 weeks)
Telephone: 405-325-4411
Fax: 405-325-7429 MDS website: https://www.ou.edu/cas/students/academic-advising#mds

Full Name: OU Student I.D.

Address:
City, State Zip:
Phone:
E-mail: Current Retention OU GPA:
Current OU Major/College: Current Retention Combined GPA:
Number of hours completed: Expected Date of Graduation:

A bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies is an option provided for students who

discover that existing OU programs do not meet their educational objectives and who
wish to tailor a unique course of study to meet their individual goals. An MDS degree is
an opportunity to craft a personal program of study with rigor, coherence, and purpose.

Total hours: 120 hours

Upper division hours: 48 hours
Minimum GPA: 2.0

The course of study must include a minimum of 30 hours major-theme credit plus a
Capstone, OU’s General Education requirements, and additional elective hours to a total
of at least 120 hours. At minimum 18 hours of the major credit must be at the upper
division level.

The student proposes a major theme of study with a course plan in coordination with an
MDS advisor. The course plan must be approved by the Provost. Following initial
approval of the MDS plan, any subsequent changes or substitutions must be approved by
the Provost.

While exceptions can be approved by the Provost in rare circumstances, an MDS Plan of
Study should include at minimum the courses required by two minors or concentrations
already approved at OU. This allows students to combine coherent course sequences,
while leaving the flexibility to add other, individual courses that add to the educational
experience. Students are encouraged to add complementary courses beyond the core
areas to enrich their experience. Independent studies, study abroad, internships, and
other forms of field experience can also add value to the MDS Plan of Study.

Students wishing to pursue an MDS degree should work in consultation with an MDS
advisor to submit a Proposed Plan of Study and MDS Questionnaire to the Provost.

This means that two or more areas of study are picked to represent the courses you have taken or will take. They do
not have to be specific courses that a minor already lists. It just should be similiar to how a minor is set up. For
example, if you want to focus your major in Corporate Human Relations, then the courses you list are those that help
you understand and develop expertise in this area. Example courses could be (for Area 1) any HR, Sociology, Psych,
or Comm courses relevant to ethics, social development, or understanding human behavior. Area 2 courses might be
courses related skill development such as finance principles, marketing, accounting, etc)
 Multidisciplinary Studies Degree Plan Proposal
Your major title should be a reflection of the courses listed in application to represent the area of expertise that you wish to study.
* It cannot be a major title that is the same an any at OU
* It should not be long.
* It can represent two proposed connected fields of study "Psychological Leadership and Business Management"
or
It can broadly represent a field such as "Health Studies" or it can represent a specific area of a field such as "Neurological Disorders"

What is your proposed major theme title? Example: Psychological Influences in Journalism

Which degree are you wishing to complete?

A BA requires 80 liberal art courses
Bachelor’s of Arts Bachelor’s of Science and a BS requires 55 liberal arts
hours. You can choose either. Note:
Prior Journalism, Fine Arts,
Proposed Plan of Study Education, Business, or Engineering
What courses would be utilized as major work for your proposed major? majors may not have enough liberal
(The course of study must include a minimum of 36 hours major credit including a Capstone, OU’s arts credits for a Bachelor of Arts.
General Education requirements, and additional elective hours to a total of at least 120 hours. At Check with your advisor for the
least 18 hours of the major credit must be at the upper division level. Be sure to include course specific amount of credits that you
departments, course numbers and course titles. Including number of hours attributed to each course have if you are interested in choosing
is helpful to see how many hours are counting toward each area. Courses listed for your major the BA degree path.
work can be courses that you have completed or courses that you plan to take. Approved major
plans must be completed as submitted on this form to fulfill major requirements for graduation
unless there are approved changes form the Provost.
Area 1
Dept. Course # Title Example courses Completed/Enrolled/Planned
Note: If you are PSY 1113 Elements of Psychology (3 hours) Completed
pursuing a minor PSY 2003 Understanding Stats (3) Enrolled
along with your
MDS degree, you
PSY 3203 Cognitive Psychology (3) Planned
cannot duplicate
courses for both a
minor and a major.
So, any course you
list for your major Area 2
cannot those needed Dept. Course # Title Completed/Enrolled/Planned
to fulfill the minor. JMC 2033 Media Writing and Storytelling (3) Planned
JMC 3011 Daily/News (3) Planned
*Do not list the
same courses across
departments. For
example, if you took
a PSSC Lifespan
Development course
and a PSY Lifespan Additional Courses in the Theme
Development Dept. Course # Title Completed/Enrolled/Planned
course, do not list
both of them for
major courses.

Courses chosen for each area of Study should represent the subject matter. For example, you wouldn't choose Anthropology courses for a Physics or Math-
based major unless your theme had something to do with Cultural Beliefs about Math and Physics. Note that most psych, sociology, and HR courses are
applicable to any career involving human interaction/customer service.

It isn't necessary to list all the courses you have taken in a field, but enough to add up to 36 hours. Some general education courses may apply to your areas
of focus if they are relevant. For example, chem 1315, phys2414 certainly apply to skill development in Health Studies. However, many of the courses you
list will be specific to acquiring skills in your major. Courses do not all have to be under the same subject but should reflect development in each area of
study. There can be an uneven amount representing each of the areas. For example, one area can include 5 courses and the other can be 7. Your MDS or
alternative capstone (which is required) can count for 3 of the upper division hours if needed.
Multidisciplinary Degree Studies Questionnaire
Please answer the following questions in the space provide below. Your answers in total should
occupy approximately two pages, typed, single-spaced - if you require additional space please
submit the additional pages with the form.

1. Explain your reasons for selecting this specific theme and describe the educational/professional
benefits that you expect to gain from designing your own degree program. Please attach any
supporting documentation about graduate prerequisites, etc. that support your claims.
Elaborate on why or how choosing your courses helps you to gain detailed and unique
experiences in your field as well as why you decided upon the major that you chose.
2. Please explain why existing OU degree programs do not fit your goals.

Common acceptable reasons for Planned Program (There are just a few examples) Please write
what is true for your situation:
*Shortened timeline to complete graduation due to scholarship or financial aide assistance
restrictions
* No degree offered in the field you would like or no specific major captures all you wish to
study
* A desire for skill development in an unusual or unique blend of two fields that interest you
* GPA restrictions

3. Please describe why the Plan of Study you proposed has sufficient rigor and coherence.
How do the courses you have chosen blend well to grant you skills in your field of expertise and
why are they the ones that you chose?

Reviewing Academic Counselor

Email Phone Number

Action by the Provost or designee:

Approved Denied

Signature: Date: