Proposal Instructions

The student, with the faculty advisor's guidance, must create and present a degree proposal to the University Studies Committee for approval. Once the student's proposal has been approved he or she is coded with the Registrar's Office in the faculty advisor's academic college. This procedure enables record keeping and determines the college in which the student will graduate.

The deadline to submit all final proposals is two weeks before the committee meets.

Submission Form

https://ugs.formstack.com/forms/bus_proposal_submission

Suggestions for Getting Started

Explore the reasons why a traditional major at the University of Utah does not satisfy your academic and/or professional needs.
Develop a theme for your degree. Browse through the University of Utah catalog and mark the classes that you would find most helpful in reaching your academic aspirations. Then look for the two or three departments where most of those classes are coming from.
Review degree options at other colleges and universities. The academic program you are looking for may already exist at a different institution. You may use those programs as guides to help you choose the types of classes that will best meet your goals.
Tie it all together. How will your key departments build on one another to produce the program that you want? Do you have all the pieces you need to make this program useful, complete, cohesive, and rigorous?

Proposal Instructions

Program Narrative:

Write a two-page statement which explains why a B.U.S. degree satisfies your academic needs better than any traditional major offered at the University of Utah. This statement should address the following issues:

Your plans after graduation and how you expect this degree to help you achieve them.
Why your proposed course of study cannot be substantially accomplished within majors or a combination of major and minor.
How your proposed clusters of courses provide the necessary knowledge or practical application of skills for your academic and/or professional goals. Also state directly and succinctly what each cluster contributes to the whole program and why this knowledge or skill is important.
Designate the general nature of your thesis or project, including procedures for collecting, evaluating, and applying the data.
Provide section headings to provide the reader some guides on what will follow. This could include; Introduction, Background, Coursework, Future Plans, Thesis for example

Faculty Support Letter:

Provide a letter from the faculty advisor that expresses his or her understanding of and commitment to the proposal. The faculty advisor is also encouraged to comment on any issues or features of the program that should be brought to the B.U.S. Committee's attention. Please have the faculty put this letter of support on departmental letterhead

Course Spreadsheet

Using the coursework template excel spread sheet please enter information:
Completed | Department | Course Number | Course Titlte | Credit Hours | General/Major/Minor | General Edu req. code | Bs/Ba req. code
The complete is “x” for each course already completed, “t” for transfer courses and, “ip” (in progress) for courses currently being taken. Leave the space blank if the course is yet-to-be taken.
The excel spreadsheet will automatically calculate courses hours if you do not change the formulas at the end of the spreadsheet.
The General/Major/Minor is “G” for general education, “M” for major, and “MI” for minor. If course fulfills multiple requirements then please use code and the a “/“ between

Unofficial Transcript:

Attach a current unofficial transcript from the University of Utah and transcripts from any other colleges and universities you have attended.

NOTE: It is highly recommended that you have your proposal draft reviewed by the B.U.S. director before submitting your final copy. It is not uncommon for students to write several drafts before they submit the final proposal.