<p>I am a sophomore who has done the interdisciplinary major for three semesters at two different schools, and who is looking to transfer yet again to NYU's Gallatin School for Individualized Study.</p>
<p>The individual major is usually for people who know what they want to study, but their course of study doesn't fit neatly into another prescribed major or double major. </p>
<p>My first experience was at Hofstra's New College. There, you could "concentrate" in one of several areas, including Social Science, Natural Science, Education, Humanities, and Interdisciplinary Studies (the most liberal). It was really great because you had a few requirements like writing and math, but you basically got to take whatever classes you wanted. You visited an advisor each semester to make sure that your class schedule was in keeping with what you want to do in life, but that's about the only restraint. As for what we called it, we just called it by whatever we were "concentrating" in.</p>
<p>The Individual Major program that I am in now (at a state university) is a little bit different. It is approved by your acadmic advisor and a faculty member from the university. The individual major here does not have prescribed concentrations, so you can really do whatever you want in the truest sense of the phrase. Here, you can use everything to supplement your classroom experience too, like study abroad, research, internships, and classes at other schools in the area. </p>
<p>At NYU, I want to study the nature of rebellion in a cultural, biological, and psychological context, something that I can do at my current university but that I can do better and more in depth at NYU. I am planning to take this undergraduate major and go on to do graduate school and eventually have a profession in Adolescent Social Work.</p>
<p>In all, the individual major is not a combination of existing majors - that would be too many requirements for you to fulfill and you would never graduate on time. It is not a crazy idea at all, as many people do this, which is why colleges are starting to create whole divisions for this purpose. </p>
<p>Because of the nature of the program, though, my experience has been that faculty will approve whatever you want to do as long as it can be done within the parameters of the University or College because that's what the program is there for - it's for those who don't want to major in something traditional. Most places, you call it whatever it is.In the case of a place like Hofstra, you might call it "Interdisciplinary Studies" or "Creatvie Studies". I know a guy at NYU who is majoring in "Evil", studying evil in the context of philosophy, psychology, cultural studies, and religion.</p>
<p>As for what it will say on your diploma, you have to check that out with your school. At NYU Gallatin and Hofstra New College, you'll still get a Bachelor of Arts no matter what your concentration is. At my state university, you'll get a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies - it really depends on where you go.</p>
<p>I say go for it. It's a great experience because (at the risk of me sounding like an after school special) the possibilities are literally endless. You can take control of your education and do what you want to do however you want to do it. The more eclectic, the better - individual majors were made for people like you!</p>
<p>Good Luck! I hope you get to do "Fiction of Medicine" - it sounds really interesting.</p>