Students in the CaSB major have the option of designing a Customized track. This is ideal for students who wish to explore interests in CaSB outside of the three designated tracks. Students must submit a proposal with a written statement in order to pursue a Customized track. All proposals are reviewed and must be approved by the CaSB Chair.
Guidelines for Creating a Customized Track
1. Courses must be approved beforehand by the CaSB Chair. NO EXCEPTIONS. Approval is based upon a written statement, submitted by the student, explaining the relevance and coherence of the courses selected to the student’s overall CaSB program.
With appropriate justification, approved Customized track can be revised by petition. The same prior-approval rules apply to the revised program.
2. A Customized track should consist of 5 courses for a minimum of 20 units. The course selection should be coherent and well-justified.
3. All courses in the track must be upper division (100-199). Graduate (200) level courses may be approved. No lower division courses (1-99).
4. No 199 research courses are permissible in the Customized track.
5. All courses must be taken for a letter grade. Students must earn a C or better in each course to have it apply towards major requirements.
Applying for a Customized Track
To apply for a Customized track, students should submit a typed proposal to CaSB via Message Center. All documents in the proposal should be submitted in WORD or PDF format. The proposal should contain:
1. A completed Customized Track Proposal Cover Sheet.
2. A typed statement (approx. 1-2 pages) explaining:
- your reasoning for pursuing a Customized track and how your proposed curriculum aligns with your future goals.
- what you expect to learn from each course and how it is relevant to your degree.
- how your selected courses fit together to form a coherent program of study.
3. The course description for each course included in your proposal. Course descriptions can be found on the Registrar’s site.
Customized track proposals are collected and reviewed twice per quarter and once during Summer Session along with petitions. The deadlines to submit proposals are:
- Friday Week 2 of Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters, as well as Friday Week 2 of Summer Session A
- Friday Week 8 of Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters
Please allow 7-10 business days after each deadline for faculty review. Students who do not turn in proposals by these deadlines may have to wait for the next review period. Students can begin submitting proposals as early as 2 weeks before each deadline.
If a student is approved for a Customized track, they will be expected to complete the approved courses. Any changes to the approved track must be approved by the CaSB Chair.
Please note, for students who are pursuing a Customized track, the courses will not be automatically applied to your Degree Audit Report (DAR). Students should email the CaSB Counselor after each quarter in which they take a Customized track course. The CaSB Counselor will review the student’s record to ensure that grades of C or better were earned. The CaSB Counselor will then update the DAR and apply the coursework to the student’s major requirements.
