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Individually Designed Concentrations (IDCs)

Individually Designed Concentrations (IDCs) consist of five courses in a coherent subject area related to Symbolic Systems.

Course selection is to be made in consultation with the student's advisor and is subject to approval by the advisor, the Associate Director, and the Director. 

Approval of an IDC must take place no less than two full quarters before a student plans to graduate. Failure to obtain approval by the required date will necessitate either completing the requirements for one of the Program's designed concentrations, or delaying graduation until the end of the second full quarter following approval of an IDC.

To get a proposed IDC approved, please complete this IDC Approval Form:

  • Title of IDC*
  • One paragraph description
  • Course plan
    • An IDC should include at least two courses that apply or focus on one or more of the four Core Breadth Areas of our major (Philosophical Analysis, Formal Methods, Computational Methods, and Empirical Cognitive Science). These courses need not focus on the same Breadth Areas, however. All of the courses in the plan should fit within the theme of the proposed IDC based on the title and one paragraph description you have provided.
    • Your course plan must specify an Integrative Requirement course, as your fifth course, if you are doing the G4 (2020-21 or later) requirements. See "Experiential Requirements" on the Core Requirements page for more info on the Integrative Requirement.
  • Proposed Concentration Advisor who must approve your IDC proposal before it can be considered for approval by the SymSys office.

*Note: The title of your proposed IDC is purely for communicating the theme of your proposal with the Symbolic Systems Program office at the time it is submitted, and will not appear on your transcript or diploma.