Proposing a New Undergraduate Degree Program to the MIT Faculty and its Standing Committees

This overview provides general information about the process and sequence of steps involved in establishing a new undergraduate degree program. Prior to completing the Proposal Form, please write to new_degree@mit.edu for additional guidance and instruction.

Download the Guidelines for a New Undergraduate Degree Program (PDF)

Download the Proposal Form for a New Undergraduate Degree Program (Word)

• Background
• Contact Information
• Guidelines for Degree Charts
• Roadmaps: Sample Layout

background

Consistent with the guidelines for approval of undergraduate degree programs, which were voted into place by the MIT Faculty in May 2003, the review of a new undergraduate degree program is a multi-committee process. The primary committees involved are the Subcommittee on the Communication Requirement (SOCR), the Committee on the Undergraduate Program (CUP), and the Committee on Curricula (CoC).

Preliminary drafts are encouraged, particularly for proposals involving interdisciplinary and joint programs or proposals that raise questions concerning Rules and Regulations of the Faculty and/or other existing policy governing the undergraduate program. Proposals should not be submitted in final form until they have been vetted by the appropriate School and departmental curriculum committees.

On the proposal form, you will be asked to provide basic information about the degree program (the rationale for establishing it, anticipated demand for the degree, other programs that may be affected by the program), a description of the curriculum (its structure and coherence, required and recommended subjects offered by other programs, programs with which there is substantial overlap, a degree chart, roadmaps for completion (from varying points of entry), and answers to specific questions that pertain to each review committee’s area of responsibility. The form also explains the requirements concerning letters of support that must accompany the proposal.

The degree program approval process is iterative and somewhat fluid so that, with agreement among the reviewing committees, some discussions and considerations may move forward simultaneously. Proposals are not normally approved by SOCR, CUP, and CoC at the same meeting at which they are initially presented and discussed. Instead, the proposals may be discussed across several meetings both in the presence of the proposers and in committee. The committees may also refer specific elements of a proposal to other entities for consideration and feedback.

Each committee focuses on different aspects of the proposal. In completing this form, please note that some sections are required by all review committees and others by some smaller set.

• SOCR is responsible for ensuring that each undergraduate degree program has appropriate communication-intensive subjects in the major (CI-M), as specified by the Institute’s undergraduate Communication Requirement.
• The CUP’s review focuses primarily on administrative infrastructure, policy, and governance and oversight issues.
• The CoC’s review focuses primarily on the curriculum, including the educational rationale, the sustainability and structure of the program, and its compliance with existing policy and rules.
• The FPC’s review focuses on the process followed, any issues that are brought to its attention, and scheduling the item for consideration at a Faculty Meeting.

Proposals for a new degree type or for a new degree program that couples an undergraduate degree and a graduate degree follow a different review sequence. In these cases, the FPC and CUP review precedes CoC review. In the case of a combined undergraduate/graduate program, the Committee on Graduate Programs (CGP) must also indicate its approval.

The chart that follows illustrates the process and timeline for the review of new undergraduate degree programs.

Approval Process for Undergraduate Degree Programs

contact information

Subcommittee on the Communication Requirement

2012-13 Co-Chairs:  TBD

Staff:    Kathleen MacArthur, PhD, Executive Officer; Lauren Reemsnyder, Staff to the Subcommittee

E-mail:   commreq@mit.edu

Phone:  (617) 253-2783

Office:   12-126

Committee on the Undergraduate Program

2012-13 Chair:  Professor Timothy Grove; Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

Staff:    Anna Frazer, Executive Officer; Lauren Reemsnyder, Staff to Committee

E-mail:   cup-www@mit.edu

Phone:  (617) 253-6309

Office:   12-127

Committee on Curricula

2012-13 Chair:  Professor Shankar Raman, Literature

Staff:    Joan (Jo) Flessner-Filzen, Executive Officer; Jennifer (Jen) Donath, Assistant Registrar

E-mail:   curricula@mit.edu

Phone:  (617) 258-6412

Office:   5-111

Faculty Policy Committee

2012-13 Chair:  Professor Samuel M. Allen, Materials Science and Engineering

Staff:     Aaron Weinberger, Faculty Governance Administrator

E-mail:   aweinber@mit.edu

Phone:  (617) 253-5912

Office:   7-211

roadmaps: sample layout

Roadmaps may include up to 8.5 subjects per year. A maximum of 12 units of required coursework may be available only during IAP, but programs must provide contingencies to ensure that a student’s program is not disrupted by circumstances beyond his or her control.

Six-unit subjects are counted as half-subjects; subjects of 9 – 15 units are counted as one subject; 18-unit subjects count as 1.5 subjects; and subjects of 21 – 24 units count as 2 subjects. The roadmaps must show at least 48 units of unrestricted electives, 12 of which should fall in the freshman year. Program requirements must include 180 (minimum) to 198 (maximum) units beyond the GIRs.

Below is a sample layout for a typical roadmap; GIR subjects are highlighted in red. Roadmaps must be provided for first-term sophomores, second-term sophomores, and first-term juniors.