Northwestern University had everything Nick Shultz wanted — except the right degree.
So he designed his own.
Now, the 20-year-old junior is on his way to graduating with a degree in “Criminalistics,” a curriculum he mapped out to study law, political science, physical chemistry and psychology.
What does he propose to do with his one-of-a-kind degree?
“I want to do investigative fieldwork for national-security purposes, high-profile crime cases, especially at the FBI,” he says. “They investigate all the national crimes such as serial killers.”
Shultz is among a growing number of students who design degrees that stretch convention and by turn predict emerging cultural trends.
Ten years ago, only 410 interdisciplinary programs — which include “individualized major programs” (IMP), or designer degrees — existed, says William Newell, executive director of the Association for Integrative Studies.
Today, he says, that number has nearly tripled.
In the Midwest, DePaul University, Northwestern University and the University of Michigan offer some form of interdisciplinary degrees, among others.
The growth in such majors is an acknowledgment of “the increased need for people to solve problems using more than one discipline, especially complex social issues,” says Stuart Henry, director of the School of Public Administration and Urban Studies at San Diego State University.
Self-designed and interdisciplinary degrees reflect changing workforce needs, cultures and technologies, Henry says.
Shultz designed his degree to respond to a specific career goal.
“I wanted to design a major where I would have a good sense of the law, the chemistry for crime scenes and the psychology for the mental aspects of the job,” Shultz says.
Historically, educational bureaucracies are slow to change, so individualized programs “are the spawning ground for new majors,” Newell says. “It’s the students who try these things out first. It’s a curriculum petri dish.”
Will Shortz was one of the first into the petri dish. In 1974, five years after Indiana University developed its independent study program, Shortz graduated with a degree in enigmatology, the study of puzzles. Shortz later went on to become the puzzle editor for The New York Times.
“The major did what any regular degree would do: It gave me an academic underpinning, and it gave me a credential,” Shortz says.
That’s one of the reasons Abbey Stemler chose IU for her self-fashioned degree in the anthropology of mental health and illness.
“Basically, I think in order to improve mental health you have to have a multiperspective take,” says the 21-year-old junior.
“My approach is not trying to treat the problem; it’s trying to treat the person.”
Self-designed degrees aren’t just about credentials; they’re “a register of cultural change,” says Raymond Hedin, director of Indiana University’s Individualized Major Program.
IMPs can telegraph emerging fields of study and cultural interests. Gender studies and cognitive science departments got their starts as designer programs, Hedin says.
Noting the growth in video technology, for instance, he says, “There’s been a lot of talk about making video game design its own department.”
Margaret Lamb, director of the IMP at the University of Connecticut, adds, “When students are clustered around an area of interest like human rights here, people take notice.”
In the 1970-71 academic year, U.S. colleges and universities awarded 7,000 bachelor degrees in multidisciplinary fields, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.
Today, roughly 26,000 students graduate with interdisciplinary degrees, says Henry.
At IU, some students are pursuing degrees in civil theology, medical illustration, ancient languages and violin-making, to name a few.
Until recently, the university even had a student majoring in entrepreneurial brewing, “but I think he drank himself out of the program,” Hedin jokes.
But don’t mistake a self-designed major for a lack of rigor, Shortz warns.
“You have to be a self-starter to do this,” he says. “I just can’t tell you how many hours I spent in the library, going through old newspapers. [An IMP] is not something everyone can do.”
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Architecture of a degree
Students who design their majors often find it impossible to concentrate their course of study within a single academic department. They must draw classes from multiple disciplines. Here are two students’ individual major programs and how they plan to apply them after graduation.
Anna Barsan, 21
University of Michigan
– Degree: Bachelor’s in international development and social justice.
– After graduation: “Social justice, for me, is about creating cultural understanding. It’s very much about education. I’m doing a fundraising project now for a school in Kenya. We’re all the same; we’re all connected. I would definitely be interested in working with an NGO.”
– Course selection:
International Grass Roots Development (Social Sciences Dept.)
– Natural Resources and the Economy (School of Natural Resources)
-Human Rights, Race and Gender (Women Studies Dept.)
– Study Abroad in Nairobi, Kenya studying development and health
-Women’s Health in Ghana
-Economic Anthropology (Cultural Anthropology Dept.)
Andrew Stuhl, 25
University of Wisconsin-Madison
– Degree: Master’s in environmental history and watershed conservation .
– After graduation: “I just want to educate and train other students to see connections that exist between the natural world and human societies, and train them to solve real world problems.”
– Course selection:
-Cultural Anthropology (Anthropology Dept.)
-World Forest History (Forestry Dept.)
-Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (Geography Dept.)
-Water Resources, Institutions and Policies (Urban and Regional Planning Dept.)
-Limnology (the study of lakes), in the Center for Limnology and Zoology Dept.
– – –
Going multidisciplinary
Will Shortz, 54
Pleasantville, N.Y.
Occupation: Crossword editor for The New York Times and puzzlemaster for National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition Sunday”
Study concentration: Enigmatology (the study of puzzles)
School: Indiana University, graduated in 1974
How degree/studies informs current job: “I wanted to study every subject having to do with puzzles. That would be math, logic, psychology. . . . I designed a course on the psychology of puzzles, as well as what excites people about puzzles, how the brain works.
“I’m 54, and I’m still talking about my major. How many people can say that?”
Abbey Stemler, 21
New Albany, Ind.
Area of study: Anthropology of mental health and illness (self-designed major)
School: Indiana University, currently a junior
What she hopes to do with her degree? “In order to improve mental health, you have to have a multiperspective take. For therapy, we really have to take into account different cultures, family structures and respect that.
“What got me started on this, I had a really severe eating disorder. For me, understanding how it was culturally defined opened a lot of doors. Seeing that this problem wasn’t just inside me. It was a part of the culture; it was a part of media and cultural dynamics. . . . My ultimate goal is to see the nation move towards a more effective and comprehensive mental health delivery system for all Americans, but one that is particularly focused on helping children develop the resiliency to deal with life’s challenges.”
Nick Shultz, 20
Mequon, Wis.
Areas of study: Criminalistics (self-designed major) and music performance in voice
College: Northwestern University, currently a junior
What he hopes to do with his degree: “I hope to one day work for the FBI or CIA. They have a division called the Analysis of Violent Crimes Unit. I wanted to be able to have a broad range of knowledge relating to the investigative field before I left the academic environment.
“I also am receiving a second degree from Northwestern in music performance in voice. I’ve talked to a number of people who told me that the FBI admires it when they have applicants with degrees in the arts because they show a broad range of understanding in emotional and analytical aspects of the job.”
