The Westphal Studies program provides an individualized course of study initiated by a student. The student must have completed two terms of their junior year in an Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design major to be eligible for admission into this major.
A small number of students in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design decide that their goals lie at the periphery of the major or the intersection between several majors, and would be served by more latitude than offered in the highly specified courses in their major. For these students, the Westphal Studies program major broadens future career goals and allows exploration combined with a focused exposure to a second field. It acknowledges the specialization that is characteristic of the majors in the College and the expectations of the professional fields for which our students are being prepared. Simultaneously, it recognizes the breadth and rapidly changing nature of many disciplines and permits a student who has acquired a basic working knowledge of a specific aspect of media arts and design to investigate a clearly defined alternative.
Admission to the program is limited to currently matriculated College of Media Arts and Design students who have completed the major-intensive sophomore year and experienced a co-op placement or completed their junior-year courses. The following items are required as part of the application:
- A student-generated, individualized plan of study, developed with and signed by a member of the Westphal Studies Program Advisors Committee
- A statement in writing of the student's goals in applying to the major and the rationale of how the proposed plan of study addresses those goals
- A definition of appropriate co-operative education placement if the student has not completed a six-month employment in the field of their major
- A letter from the student's current program director
Approval by the Westphal Studies Program Advisors Committee is required for admission to the major; it is not automatic upon request. The committee must be convinced by the validity of the applicant's reasons for applying, the proposed study plan, and accompanying documentation. Details about the application procedure may be obtained from the director of Westphal Studies Program.
Recommended Plan of Study
This program requires an individualized plan of study. Students sign off on this agreed-upon plan with the director of the Westphal Studies program. A student must have completed two terms of junior year in a College of Media Arts and Design major to be eligible for admission into this major.
The student, in consultation with their advisor and the director of the program, devises a personalized interdisciplinary study plan. The approved plan of study provides a rationale for the concentration and how the elective credits are to be used. This plan of study must be completed and approved before admission into the major.