PROGRAM II
An interdisciplinary program of study designed by individual students to meet their unique academic and intellectual goals.
On March 3-4, 2011, Dean Keul and two Program II seniors, Chris Edelman and Ian Ballard, spoke at a conference at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN on the "Forty-Year History and Influence of Program II at Duke."
History
Program II was created over forty years ago to meet the needs of a small number of students whose academic interests were not adequately met through existing majors, minors, and certificate programs in Program I. This alternative program of study in Trinity College offers students the opportunity to create a curriculum tailored to their individual academic interests. Each Program II is unique, but all share in common that they are designed by the students themselves.
If you believe that Program II is right for you, you will work with a faculty advisor of your choosing to define the content and scope of your program of study, select the courses that will comprise its core list, and make the intellectual case for the study of your topic. When your application to Program II is prepared, you will submit it to the Program II Committee of the Arts & Sciences Council for approval.
The Program II Committee will be looking for clarity in your conception of your topic, coherence, feasibility, and evidence that your participation in Program II will enable you to pursue the goals of a liberal arts education. Accordingly, the Committee will not be able to approve a course of study that it regards as providing pre-professional training for any career. Career training may not be the central focus of any Trinity College student's education, and the Program II Committee is vigilant about insuring that students admitted to Program II are pursuing a set of intellectual questions, an academic theme appropriate for undergraduate study and consistent with the goals of a liberal arts education.
