BA in Individualized Focus Area (For Adult Students)

This degree is for adults who want to accelerate their progress through applied experience and individual attention, with a focus of study based on personal or professional goals. Students meet degree requirements by documenting learning from experience as well as through transfer and SNL courses. Working with a faculty mentor and an expert in their focus area, students assess their prior learning and develop an individualized plan to meet their goals. Some students focus on topics of personal interest, such as memoir writing. Most students focus on developing knowledge and skills directly related to their current or future careers. Being able to tailor their learning to specific work-related goals provides students with unique opportunities to integrate lifelong, liberal and work-related learning. The degree is earned after satisfying 50 requirements, written as statements describing competence. Certain competencies are met by specific courses or projects; others can be satisfied by relevant transfer courses or learning from experience. Courses are at DePaul's Loop, Naperville and O'Hare campuses, as well as online. Learning Outcomes - Students will be able to: Use independent learning skills and strategies to organize, initiate, and document prior, current, and future college-level learning. Design learning strategies to attain goals for personal and educational development. Reflect on the learning process and methods used in an experiential project. Articulate the personal and social value of lifelong learning. Assess the social and personal value of civic engagement for achieving change. Write to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate experiences and concepts to demonstrate competences. Analyze issues and reconcile problems through critical and appreciative thinking. Use mathematical symbols, concepts, and methods to describe and solve problems. Learn collaboratively and examine the skills, knowledge, and values that contribute to such learning. Pose questions and use methods of formal inquiry to answer questions and solve problems. Analyze a problem using two different ethical systems. Define and analyze a creative process. Analyze power relations among racial, social, cultural, or economic groups in the United States. Analyze issues and problems from a global perspective. Describe and explain connections among diverse aspects of nature. Explain and evaluate the nature and process of science. Design and produce a significant document that gives evidence of advanced competence in one’s own focus area. Career Options: Entrepreneurship, Non-profit management, Business administration, Communications, Marketing, Education.