{"id":169870,"date":"2025-06-26T11:21:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T15:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=169870"},"modified":"2025-12-22T15:14:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:14:10","slug":"with-majors-of-their-own-making-interdisciplinary-studies-students-tackle-their-varied-interests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/26\/with-majors-of-their-own-making-interdisciplinary-studies-students-tackle-their-varied-interests\/","title":{"rendered":"Outside-the-box Batesies: Meet five DIY students who created their own majors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Of the 504 seniors who crossed the Coram Library stage at Commencement to be congratulated by President Garry W. Jenkins, four had majors not offered by traditional departments like history, biology, or English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, these seniors designed their own majors from the ground up, creating distinct academic paths known at Bates by the umbrella term \u201cinterdisciplinary studies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maria McEvoy \u201925, for example, merged her interests in the outdoors, the environment, and history to create her IS major in indigenous and prehistoric environmental studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She started out generally interested in environmental studies, then was drawn into exploring historical elements of the subject, particularly by learning from indigenous and marginalized voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was interested in the history side of it,\u201d McEvoy says. \u201cIf our relationship with the environment is super fraught right now, what did people’s relationships to the environment look like historically? Have people always had a fraught relationship with the environment?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Maria
In Gomes Chapel, Maria McEvoy \u201925 of Missoula, Mont., spins wool into yarn for an independent study course. McEvoy collected the wool while completing an Otis Fellowship in Spain, where she spent months traveling with shepherds as they moved their sheep from Madrid to rural Spain. (Phyllis Graber Jensen \/ Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sloan Phillips \u201925 of Evergreen, Colo., also tackled an interdisciplinary studies major, focused on human rights, in addition to a major in biochemistry. They have recently begun work as a researcher at the University of San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These scholars turned academic interests into academic passions; like architects imagining a new building or bridge, they assembled their majors from the ground up and submitted their proposed degree programs to the registrar\u2019s office for approval. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students often find camaraderie in their majors \u2014 the College Store offers nifty baseball caps with major logos<\/a> \u2014 but students who embark on interdisciplinary majors are more like startup entrepreneurs.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe hardest part is doing it alone,\u201d says Quinn Berry \u201925 of Middlebury, Vt., noting the need to be self-motivated while working closely with advisors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he created his IS major, Aydan Gedeon-Hope of Norton, Mass., sat down and looked at every course offered in the Bates Catalog<\/em>. \u201cIt seemed nice being able to pick all your classes and not have to worry about requirements of different departments,\u201d says Gedeon-Hope, who is a member of the Class of 2025 but will graduate next year after taking a year off. \u201cThen, you start doing it, and you realize it’s a lot easier said than done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, he liked the autonomy and responsibility.  \u201cIt’s very independent; no one’s telling you what you should and shouldn’t be taking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aydan
During summer 2024, Aydan Gedeon-Hope \u201926 of Norton, Mass., completed an internship with professional soccer league MLS Next Pro in New York City. The experience gave him the opportunity to apply skills he’s learning through his self-designed interdisciplinary studies major, which combines his interests in business and management in the social sciences with a concentration in sports. (Phyllis Graber Jensen \/ Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gedeon-Hope is a \u201ca very independent thinker and creative thinker,\u201d he says. A two-sport athlete (basketball and outdoor track), he also dabbles in theater and co-hosts a WRBC radio show. His academic interests are similarly broad, including mathematics, management, and social sciences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gedeon-Hope\u2019s IS major combines his interests in business and management in the social sciences with a concentration in sports. Last summer, he tested those interests in New York City as an intern with Major League Soccer NEXT Pro, learning the ins and outs of player relations and commercial operations, and seeing his intersecting interests come to life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI realized that the interdisciplinary major was definitely working in the sense of, I was getting more comfortable talking to people about conversations regarding players.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aydan
Aydan Gedeon-Hope \u201926 of Norton, Mass., at the MLS Next Pro office in New York City, where he completed an internship during summer 2024. (Phyllis Graber Jensen \/ Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nate Frank \u201925 of Mahwah, N.J., fashioned an IS major in creative marketing, incorporating elements of marketing and graphic design. He bolstered that major with a minor in digital and computational studies and by studying both 2D and 3D design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI started thinking about what I wanted to get out of Bates and thinking about the classes that I wanted to take that would be able to help me most when looking for a job,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A member of the Bates varsity golf team while a student, Frank recently began a job at the U.S. Golf Association as a graphic designer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berry was interested in graphic design, as well as photography and videography; his interdisciplinary major in design and visual media features coursework in art and visual culture, anthropology, and rhetoric, film, and screen studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn’t feel like I fit into one of those fully,\u201d Berry says. \u201cThe option to draw from all three of those majors was definitely attractive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Quinn
To create his interdisciplinary studies major, Quinn Berry \u201925 of Middlebury, Vt., combined graphic design, photography, and videography. Above, he’s hunkered down in the Den in April, designing the t-shirt for Senior Week for the Class of 2025. (Phyllis Graber Jensen \/ Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Interdisciplinary studies students design their curricula using a required application<\/a>. They must list 15 proposed courses: two \u201cmethods courses\u201d that teach research tools and approaches; four at the advanced, 300 level; and nine others. Of the 15, at least nine must be completed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The form also requires the student\u2019s rationale for pursuing this path over all the other 36 existing Bates majors, plus a brief thesis proposal \u2014 all due to the Office of the Registrar by March 1 of the sophomore year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IS majors must also recruit a three-member faculty advisory board, including a thesis and major advisor. \u201cThat was hard,\u201d Berry says. \u201cIt was first building a relationship with a professor enough to be able to ask that question because it is a pretty heavy undertaking\u201d for a faculty member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Quinn
Quinn Berry \u201925 (right) of Middlebury, Vt. \u2014 an interdisciplinary studies major with a focus on graphic design, photography, and videography \u2014 grabs food in the Den, his favorite place to study, and chats with Robin Graziano Heutz. (Phyllis Graber Jensen \/ Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in Missoula, Mont., Maria McEvoy learned the value of \u201cplace-based\u201d knowledge thanks to teachers from the nearby Blackfeet Nation and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. At Bates, she wanted to continue learning from Indigenous teachings and those whose expertise cannot be quantified through traditional academic measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really wanted to know more about the viewpoints and knowledge of people who aren’t traditionally accepted in academic fields,\u201d McEvoy says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by the content in Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Jamie Haverkamp\u2019s \u201cIndigenous Ecologies\u201d course and Associate Professor of History Joe Hall\u2019s \u201cNative American History\u201d course, McEvoy pulled courses from the English, politics, anthropology, environmental studies, history, and classical and medieval studies departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She enjoyed the subsequent project of connecting her courses to her written rationale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI actually thought that part was really fun,\u201d McEvoy says. \u201cIt felt like a puzzle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A strong justification is essential for an interdisciplinary studies application, as approval isn\u2019t guaranteed. If the registrar sees overlap with an existing major, they may suggest that route or propose revisions before approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have to convince the board that there are enough classes that you can make a major out of the thing that you want to make a major out of, but there are not so many classes that you could do it through another major,\u201d McEvoy says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sloan
During the 2025 Mount David Summit, Sloan Phillips \u201925 of Evergreen, Colo., shares their research on antibiotic resistance with President Garry W. Jenkins. Phillips double majored in biochemistry and interdisciplinary studies, focused on human rights. They have recently begun work as a researcher at the University of San Francisco. (Phyllis Graber Jensen \/ Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Even after applications are approved and curricula are set, students sometimes find that they cannot complete their proposed courses because of scheduling or availability. In this case, a student must request a change to their curriculum through a form to the registrar\u2019s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don’t know what courses are going to be offered every semester,\u201d Gedeon-Hope says. \u201cThat really changes your outlook on your major.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like other majors, IS majors find creative ways to apply their skills and interests to outside work and study experiences. McEvoy, for example, received an Otis Fellowship<\/a> and spent months trekking alongside shepherds leading their sheep from Madrid to rural Spain. During the trip, she collected discarded wool that she later spun into yarn for an independent study course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the things that I love the most about Bates is that I’ve been able to do so many different things that don’t always seem, on paper, to speak to each other,\u201d McEvoy says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Otis experience also inspired her honors thesis, in which she traced how pastoralism \u2014 rooted in Muslim shepherding traditions \u2014 became both an economic engine and a political metaphor in medieval and early modern Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Maria
Maria McEvoy \u201925 of Missoula, Mont., spins wool into yarn for an independent study course. During her time at Bates, McEvoy was a regular here in Gomes Chapel; as a multifaith fellow, she helped coordinate performances for {pause}, a weekly program that invites community members to meditate, spend time with friends, and enjoy live art. (Phyllis Graber Jensen \/ Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As the students near the end of their time at Bates, they\u2019re looking ahead at how they will apply what they\u2019ve learned to their next adventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy long-term goal is the hope that I really find what I do love and am able to really make a career out of that,\u201d Berry says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Phillips, what they learned through their IS major will remain close at hand as they begin their first post-Bates job, using their biochemistry skills to do research in thymus immunology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve learned through my interdisciplinary studies is that liberation and justice are everyday practices. Even as I go into science professionally, it\u2019s just as important to carry forward liberatory values.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Designing new paths through the Bates curriculum, these seniors crafted interdisciplinary majors that speak to their passions and futures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1827,"featured_media":169971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":["jamie-a-haverkamp"],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":170048,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1827"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169870"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":170050,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169870\/revisions\/170050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}