Our Adult Degree Program (ADP) is an undergraduate degree completion program that allows you to create a personalized interdisciplinary concentration or focus of study to meet your educational and career objectives. You can complete your major in Individualized Study through online courses and/or courses on our main campus. The Individualized Study major also offers you the opportunity to integrate other college-level learning such as professional or military experiences into the completion of your degree.

You have the option to earn a:

• Bachelor of Individualized Study
• Bachelor of Arts in Individualized Study
• Bachelor of Science in Individualized Study

Your Program of Study

As an Individualized Study major, you will work with ADP staff and advisors to develop a personalized Program of Study that focuses on your unique skills, interests, and career goals.

As an incoming ADP student, your first course will be IS 200: Orientation to Individualized Study. This course is a 3-credit online class that prepares you for college-level learning at James Madison and guides you through the process of building your Program of Study.

Course Tracks

Our tracks are a structured way of developing your personalized program plan. Each track offers a strong foundation in a subject area such as Entrepreneurship, Human Resource Development, Small Business Management & Entrepreneurship, Human Resource Development & Management, and Business & Information Technology. You can combine two or three tracks to create your Individualized Study major, and you can blend online and face-to-face classes if you are able to commute to campus. View a list of currently available tracks.

Degree Completion Requirements

ADP students must complete the university's required General Education courses as well as concentration-based courses. Depending on the particular courses you choose, you will earn one of three degrees:

Bachelor of Individualized Study

To earn a Bachelor of Individualized Study, you must complete the following course requirements:

• IS 200 Individualized Study Major Program Development (3 credits). 
• General Education courses in all five clusters of The Human Community as defined here: General Education Program Requirements.
• Individualized Study Concentration, or field of study, consists of a minimum of 30 credits, at least 24 of which must be upper-division credit (300- and 400-level courses). The concentration shall include classes from two or more academic disciplines and represent a coherent body of knowledge, which may require course work beyond the 30 minimum credit hours.It must also include an experiential learning component. This may include a work-based learning portfolio of prior experience (IS 206), new sponsored learning project (IS 300), study abroad, practicum, or additional research (6 credits of IS 498). Included in the concentration is the required capstone experience, IS 498: Senior Research Project (3 or 6 credits).
• Electives: You’ll need 120 total credits to graduate, including transfer credits and credits earned at James Madison. You may take additional electives to reach the 120 credits. Students are required to earn 60 credits from a 4 year college or university; 30 of the 60 credits must come from JMU.
• IS 498 Individualized Study Project is an online capstone course directly related to the concentration (3 credits). 

Bachelor of Arts in Individualized Study

To earn a Bachelor of Arts in Individualized Study, you must complete the requirements for the Bachelor of Individualized Study and the following additional credits:

• Philosophy (3 credits) and Foreign Language (6 credits of 200-level or higher)

Bachelor of Science in Individualized Study

To earn a Bachelor of Science in Individualized Study, you must complete the requirements for the Bachelor of Individualized Study and the following additional credits:

• Natural Science (3 credits) and Mathematics (3 credits)