Support WesternThe Western Program
at Miami University
Frequently Asked Questions
Hasn't the Western College Program been closed?
Yes, but it has now been reconstituted as the Western Program within the College of Arts and Science, under new faculty leadership.
Is the new program going to resemble the previous one?
Yes. The program will continue to be housed in Peabody Hall. Students in the living-learning community will take many of their courses in common. A modified core curriculum may be a feature of the new curriculum. Eventually, we anticipate that students who elect to participate fully in the Western Program will undertake the kind of independent research that leads to the completion of a substantial Senior Project, one of the key features of the former Western College Program.
I'm interested in designing my own major, but how will that work?
We expect to design the framework through which students can devise an individualized major over the next year, and have this option in place by the end of 2009-10. In the meantime, new Western students can take classes that will satisfy requirements for both the Miami Plan and the College of Arts and Science and begin to explore the possibilities of an interdisciplinary degree program.
I'm not undecided about my major — I have three! Can participation in the new Western help me to integrate all my interests so as to graduate on time?
Working with the faculty and staff at Western could help you to find ways to maximize the cross-over potential among your different majors, or to combine them into a single package. Contact us to discuss the possibilities.
Can I join the new living-learning community even if I keep my current major?
Yes. As the new Western program defines its focus, we are eager to recruit students to live and learn at Peabody no matter what they choose to major in. We also expect to offer a set of Thematic Sequences that you might choose to join so as to satisfy this Miami Plan requirement.
I'm planning to live elsewhere on campus next year. Can I still enroll in the sophomore courses or be involved in the new community?
Once sophomores have enrolled in these courses, yes, you can take them at Peabody if there are spaces available. Check with us in April 2009 to find out about their availability. And if you want to be otherwise involved in events associated with the LLC, let us know and we'll make sure you are added to our listserv.
Is the living-learning community focus on activism going to be central to the new Western curriculum?
Not necessarily. We certainly imagine that new Western students will want to engage in broader communities, but the living-learning focus will evolve over time. We do anticipate that by implementing a discovery-based curriculum that focuses on inquiry-driven, active forms of education, our community will continue to emphasize connections between academic learning and experiences beyond the classroom.