Cluster Proposals | Exploratory and Pre-Professional Advising

Cluster proposals are required for students who declared a general studies major prior to Fall 2016.

The cluster proposal is the heart of the general studies degree. The cluster proposal paper is designed to synthesize the coursework from a student’s thematic cluster. This academic narrative should clearly explain the importance of the thematic cluster to a student’s educational and/or career goals. This narrative is evaluated based upon the following components:

• Completion of the thematic cluster form
• A title representative of the content of your thematic cluster
• A description of the courses that are proposed to be included in the thematic cluster
• An explanation of how the content of the courses fit together to form a coherent program of study that interests the student
• A discussion of the ways in which the thematic cluster fits your educational, career, and/or personal goals
• Overall writing quality

If student needs to change a course that they have already proposed in their thematic cluster proposal, they must submit a substitution request, including a brief write-up of how the new course fits with the approved thematic cluster.