Bachelor's Degree with Individual Concentration (BDIC) is a "design your own major" program at UMass Amherst.   Examples of BDIC concentrations are: "E Commerce and Entrepreneurship,"  "Creative Writing and Religious Studies," "Neuroscience, Society, and Human Behavior," and "Fashion Design and Marketing."  

As the titles of these concentrations show, BDIC allows students to combine academic subjects that are usually kept separate.  Students begin by taking a special class in which they design their major with help from faculty, professional advisors, and more experienced students.  Each student writes a formal plan of their program of study.  The plan allows students to relate their academic, personal, and career interests to each other. 

BDIC students are generally highly motivated because their program of study is based on their true passion.  This passion often translates into a high level of motivation and achievement.  BDIC encourages students to be leaders and innovators, and many BDIC students have published novels, started companies, and achieved other remarkable things--while still students.

The graduates of BDIC often find work in a field directly related to their BDIC concentration.   The first graduate of BDIC, Tom Benedek (1971), was a major in film studies.  He is the screenwriter of Cocoon, Free Willy, and other notable films, and teaches film writing at the University of Souther California.  Other notable BDIC alumni include Jan Schlichtman, the lawyer featured in the novel and movie, A Civil Action, and Peter DiGiammarino, a serial top executive, currently the CEO of Compusearch.

For more information, follow the links on this site, or go to the UMass Amherst BDIC webpage: http://www.umass.edu/bdic/

UMass Amherst is the flagship campus of the Massachusetts university system.  Please visit www.umass.edu

BDIC Main Office 608 Goodell
413-545-2504
BDIC Office hours: 9-5 Mon-Fri

bdic@bdic.umass.edu

Graduates of the Program have been very successful in the employment sector and in graduate or professional school. Recent surveys of alumni continue to show that over 80% of those responding are in car eers or graduate school (or both) that are directly related to their individual concentrations.

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Admission to BDIC is open to regularly enrolled UMass students, transfer students from other colleges, and those seeking a second bachelor's degree.

Acceptance into the program is decided on the basis of a curriculum proposal in which the student outlines his or her course of study. 

What Are the Requirements For a BDIC Major?
Please refer to the General Program information section.

The idea for BDIC originated with UMass students. 

In 1968, a group of students organized a conference and called for more individualism in education.   Professor Arthur Kinney in the English department then stepped forward.  He shaped the student demand for academic freedom into a rigorous and interdisciplinary program.  BDIC was approved by the faculty senate and board of trustees and began to operate in the fall of 1970.

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