What is BIS/IDIM?
The Bachelor of Individualized Studies (BIS) is an alternative degree program that provides certain types of flexibility not available in B.A. and B.S. programs. Rather than completing a major within a single field, students focus their coursework on three areas of concentration, one of which may consist of courses from outside CLA. These areas do not have to be related to each other, but the BIS program proposal must include an explanation of the student’s overall educational goals. The Individually Designed Interdepartmental Major (IDIM) program enables students to fulfill the major program requirements for the B.A. degree by completing an interdepartmental program of coursework focused on a theme of their own choosing, designed in consultation with faculty and staff advisers. IDIM programs consist of three or four areas of concentration, integrated in such a way that the major has strong thematic unity and coherence. The College of Liberal Arts has a 70-year tradition of enabling st