Current News

ATTENTION! Cassandra Casperson, the General Studies, International Studies, and International Business Advisor will be seeing students both by appointment AND by walk in. Walk ins are for quick questions only and appointments will be for more intense issues such as completing a graduation plan. See the guidelines below!

Advising

• For General Studies, International Studies or International Business Advising: Cassandra Casperson will be seeing students by appointment and by walk in. You will find walk in dates and times on the calendar to the left. If you have a quick question or an issue that should take 15 minutes or less, you MUST come during walk in times. Appointment times are strictly for students that have more time involved issues such as needing to file a graduation plan; needing advising for Study Abroad; etc.

For Walk Ins, come to 214 Switzler Hall during one of the scheduled walk in times. Please do not come in the last half hour of the scheduled times or you will run the risk of not being seen. Use walk in times for quick questions taking 15 minutes or less.

For Appointment times, call Cassandra Casperson directly at 884-5717, or our office at 882-6060, to schedule an appointment. Appointments will only be approved for a 30 minute duration and only for issues that are more time intensive such as completing a graduation plan or discussing Study Abroad. If you are late by more than 5 minutes, you will be asked to schedule another appointment.

NOTE: If you need to complete and file a graduation plan, please do not attempt to do this during the first week of classes or Early Registration. We are extremely busy during those times and we would not be able to give you the attention you deserve.

Attn: International Business Students! You must file a graduation plan with Arts and Science by the time you have 55 credit hours but you must be accepted into Business before we can do a graduation plan with our office. So see a Business advisor first, then come see us! You will find more information on this process in the guidelines for getting a degree in International Business as well as on the International Business page.

• For Interdisciplinary Studies Advising: Call the Student Success Center at 884-9700 for an appointment with Deanna Cotter. If it is your first time meeting with Deanna, please visit the Interdisciplinary Studies page to see what you need to bring with you to your first meeting. If you have a question about your Capstone, you may email Deanna at CotterD@missouri.edu with your question. You do not need to meet with her in person unless she asks you to do so after you have emailed.

• For Guidelines on How To Print Your Unofficial Academic Record click "here".

• Insight on Studying Abroad : Unfortunately some of our students make it abroad then realize they cannot register for courses during Early Registration because they never filed a graduation plan. Or they didn't have enough hours to file, so they didn't meet with our advisor and simply do not have any idea what to take. To avoid the same plight, read our Insight on Studying Abroad (pdf). If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact our office.

• Filing your graduation plan : If you have completed, or will be completing 55 credit hours this semester, you will have to file your graduation plan or Arts and Science will put a hold on your registration. To do this you have to meet with your advisor and finalize a graduation plan. Please review the information on the program you are interested in so you can be prepared when you meet with your advisor. (See the links to the left.) Read up on the degree requirements and educate yourself on the degree you are pursuing. Download the blank graduation plan and do your best to complete as much of it as possible. Bring this plan to the meeting with your advisor. Once your grad plan is complete, and your advisor has signed off on it, she will direct you to see Megan Merrill in 107 Lowry Hall. Megan will file the graduation plan and you will be able to register. See our guidelines "Steps to Graduation" (pdf) for more information on the process. You have to meet with an adivsor in person to complete a graduation plan. We cannot do this via email or telephone. THINK AHEAD! Do NOT wait until the first day of Registration or Classes to attempt to file a grad plan! If we are busy, we may not be able to help you!!

Welcome

Suppose you have a good idea on what you want to do with your life and your career, but it doesn't fit neatly into a particular department or program at MU or anywhere else.

The Office of Special Degree Programs can help you structure an individualized plan that focuses on your particular interests and goals. This option gives you a choice of five degree tracks:

Bachelor of General Studies (BGS)
Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies
Bachelor of Arts in International Studies
BSBA in International Business
MU in the Evening leading to the BGS

“I love the flexibility the program offers. I was able to spend my time studying all of the subjects I was interested in.” - Alumna 2001

Our Strengths

The Office of Special Degree Programs, established in 1991, helps students with interdisciplinary interests put together a program to match their objectives. Such programs are as demanding as those of individual departments—if not more so. Since they require faculty advising and approval, they are also intellectually coherent, giving students solid academic preparation to pursue their individual paths. To help you achieve your educational goal, please see Steps To Graduation (pdf).