The Integrative Studies program, located on the second floor of Franklin Hall, helps students to explore goals, interests, and values and to create a plan to reach those goals.  A significant part of that process will consist of taking classes and eventually selecting a major.  At Farmington, students have two options for majors:  1) to select among the majors we already offer, or 2) to create your own major, called an Individualized major, that is focused on a particular theme or concept of interest.

Your First Year:
Many of the courses taken in the first year will fulfill two functions:  1) to help you explore or solidify your interests and 2) fulfill Farmington's general education requirements.  For example, you might take PSY 101S (Introduction to Psychology) to see if you find discovering how the human mind works interesting as well as to fulfill the social science portion of general education.  In the same way, you could take BIO 110N (Marine Biology) because you've always wanted to know more about marine mammals, but also because it fulfills your natural science general education requirement.
                                           
In addition, our FYS 100 (First Year Seminar) and ENG 100 (English Composition Seminar) span multiple topics and delve into ideas you may never have considered before.  Some example of past course titles are: 

Outside the Classroom:
Although academics are the backbone of the college experience, many powerful experiences occur outside of the classroom.  When you meet with your academic advisor, you will work with him or her to find or create experiences that will be valuable to you as you explore your educational goals and connect classroom learning with real-life applications.

Examples of Individualized Majors:
We encourage students to focus on a theme or concept – not just on two disciplines.  Here are some examples of the innovative majors that some of our students have created or that you could create:

Social Dynamics (with coursework in sociology and psychology)
Authenticity (with coursework in computer science and philosophy)
Peace Studies (with coursework in political science, sociology, history)
Russian Studies (with coursework in Russian language, history, and political science)
Multicultural Dance (with coursework in anthropology, religion, and dance)
Art Therapy (with coursework in art, psychology, and rehabilitation)

Student Support:
While you are in the Integrative Studies program, we want you to take the time to explore a variety of topics related to your interests and utilize your academic advisor and our student peer advisors to guide you along the way.  You might consider taking a 2 credit course, LIA 177 (College and Life Planning), which is designed to assist students with deciding upon or creating an Individualized major.  When the time arrives that you are ready to declare a major, the staff at the Center for Human Development can guide you through the process.