Interdisciplinary Innovation

Draft Version
This is a DRAFT catalog for review and advising purposes. Items in this catalog draft are subject to change until the catalog for 2024-2025 academic year will be officially published on August 19th, 2024. The statements set forth in this catalog are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as the basis of a contract between a student and this institution. Should changes in a program of study become necessary, those changes will be applied liberally by the institution while the catalog is in draft mode.

Designed to assist students returning to the university after a long absence, the major gives students the opportunity to use their completed coursework, courses in creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, and an individualized program of study to complete a meaningful degree that incorporates innovative, interdisciplinary convergence of knowledge and skills in the context of their workplace. Students must have not been enrolled at Bradley for 5 or more years and are within 30 hours of graduating.

Students will work with a trained SEI academic advisor to work out a meaningful course of study, from which, they will develop a proposal explaining how this course of study meets their academic and career objectives. The Turner School Curriculum Committee, made up of faculty from each college, will review and approve curriculum proposals. Copies of similar individual curriculum designs were submitted with our initial proposal to the New Ideas Committee.

Major Requirements:

  • Bradley Core Curriculum (36 hours) Students whose completion plan is enhanced by 'opting in' to the BCC will be allowed to do so or they can finish the General Education requirements under their original degree plan.
  • Free electives (64 hours)
  • Meaningful program of study (24 hours, 12 of which must be at the 300-level or above) – Students will work with their SEI advisor to develop a meaningful interdisciplinary course of study proposal that meets that academic and career objectives, including how innovation is needed to solve problems in their current and future career goals. This proposal will be presented to the Turner School Curriculum Committee, who will approve the proposals. All Chairs whose programs would be asked to provide three or more courses from a specific department would be asked to participate in that review process as well, and copies of the final curriculum proposals will be provided the Deans of the colleges for each of the students’ original degree programs, since each student’s plan will bridge disciplines. As part of this program of study, they will also be required to complete two entrepreneurship courses (6 hours of the 24 listed above)
    • ENT 280 - Entrepreneurial Creativity – a course designed to teach idea and opportunity generation, recognition, and evaluation and is currently taught in-person in the Fall and online May and January Interim.
    • ENT 482 – The Entrepreneurial Experience – our capstone course that gives students practical experiential learning
  • They must meet a minimum of a 2.0 GPA in their approved program of study.

Though final hours will come from the Turner School, the Deans and development officers of the new alumni’s original college will also be notified from the outset, so that they can re-establish relationship with these students before they become alumni.