About the individualized concentration
The Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences is designed to meet your unique needs—including the ability to design your own degree concentration to develop the knowledge and skills you need to fulfill your life goals and career ambitions. While most BAAS degree concentrations are interdisciplinary, combining areas of study to encourage greater complexity and flexibility as you explore your interests, the Individualized Studies concentration goes a step further. With input from your academic advisor, you can combine courses from two or three certificates or course blocks for a highly personalized learning experience.
Courses
Students in the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree choose a concentration to tailor their undergraduate education to specific personal and professional goals. Courses within each concentration may be taken in any order unless prerequisites are specified.
In addition to completing a 12 c.u. Individualized Studies concentration, students also complete 8 c.u. of foundation courses and 10 c.u. of elective courses for the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree. Students interested in the Individualized Studies concentration work with their academic advisor to develop a 12 c.u. proposed concentration plan of study. Once the plan is approved, the student’s concentration in Individualized Studies is officially declared.
Course options
Take four courses from any three of the following course blocks:
- Applied Positive Psychology
- Classics
- Climate Change
- Creative Writing
- Data Analytics
- Digital Culture
- Global and Regional Studies
- Leadership and Communication
- Mathematical Sciences
- Neuroscience
- Organizational Anthropology
- Professional Writing
- Religion and Culture
- Science Foundations
- Social Difference, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Social Sciences
Students completing certain course blocks while enrolled in the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) degree are awarded a certificate upon completion of the degree.
- Applied Positive Psychology Certificate
- Climate Change Certificate
- Creative Writing Certificate
- Data Analytics Certificate
- Digital Strategies and Culture Certificate
- Global and Regional Studies Certificate
- Leadership and Communication Certificate
- Neuroscience Certificate
- Organizational Anthropology Certificate
- Professional Writing Certificate
- Science Foundations Certificate
- Social Difference, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate
Courses are subject to change.
*Academic credit is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a course unit (c.u.). A course unit (c.u.) is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer). A c.u. (or a fraction of a c.u.) represents different types of academic work across different types of academic programs and is the basic unit of progress toward a degree. One c.u. is usually converted to a four-semester-hour course.
Certificates related to Individualized Studies
See your advisor to explore earning certificates along with your degree. Your advisor will help ensure that your approved study plan also meets the academic requirements of your preferred certificate(s).
