MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Proposal At-A-Glance (Sample)
□ Departmental Program
□ Interdisciplinary or Joint Program*
□ HASS Minor
1
Date:
Department(s) or
Program(s):
(For an interdisciplinary minor,
identify the administrative
department or unit.)
Sponsor(s) / Author(s):
Minor:
* Denotes programs that, per Faculty policy, also require review by the Committee on the Undergraduate Program (CUP).
1
A HASS minor is one in which a student can complete all the requirements of the minor by taking only subjects that
carry attributes associated with the HASS General Institute Requirement (GIR). Students may count five of the six
subjects in a HASS minor toward the HASS GIR. Of those five subjects, one subject may also count toward the distribution component of the HASS Requirement.
Proposal for New Undergraduate Minor
I. Introduction
1. Explain the educational rationale for the program and its context with respect to the evolving intellectual trends in the relevant field(s). Identify any alternatives you may have considered and how they
measured up to your educational objectives.
2. Describe the demand for this minor and your general expectations regarding student enrollment in
this program in each of its first five years of operation.
3. Identify any existing MIT programs—both majors and minors—whose enrollment could potentially
be affected by the availability of this program. Describe the consultation process you have followed
in reaching out to the departments or academic units and faculty responsible for these programs.
(See Section IV for a description of the supporting letters that are required.) How is this proposed
program unique from these other programs?
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Proposal for New Undergraduate Minor
II. Description of Proposed Minor
1. Describe the program, including its structure and coherence, its educational objectives, and any other
relevant aspects of the overall educational experience. Specify the total number of subjects required
for the minor and identify all required subjects, prerequisite subjects, and restricted electives (where
applicable).
2. A. List any required or recommended subjects in this program that are offered by departments and
programs other than the sponsoring entity. Describe the consultations that have taken place with the
department responsible for each subject and the conclusions that have been reached regarding potential impact on enrollments.
B. For the subjects listed above, describe the resource implications for those units. Summarize how
these resource issues will be addressed, and describe the consultation process you followed with
the departments and faculty who are responsible for these subjects.
3. Based on current policy, students may not pursue a minor in the same area as their major. Specify any
majors that students will not be allowed to combine with this program.
4. Provide a description of the program, suitable for publication in the MIT Bulletin. The description must
clearly indicate the structure of the program, including any prerequisites for the minor. HASS minors
must be structured in tiers, as described on p. 2 of the instructions.
Graduate subjects may not be included on an undergraduate minor. See p. 4 of the instructions for information on how
to describe the subject requirements of a minor. Consult staff to the CoC for assistance.
Departmental minors are published in the appropriate chapter under Schools; interdisciplinary minors are published in
the Undergraduate Programs section under Interdisciplinary Programs.
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Proposal for New Undergraduate Minor
II. Description of Proposed Minor (continued)
Additional Questions for Interdisciplinary Minors
5. Describe the interdisciplinary construct of the program and the rationale for designing it as such.
6. Describe how students from a range of majors and different entry points can complete the minor.
Additional Question for Minors Proposed by a Non-Degree Granting Entity
7. If the sponsoring entity does not currently offer an undergraduate degree, include the rationale for
establishing a minor within the unit.
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Proposal for New Undergraduate Minor
III. Administration of the Proposed Program
1. Identify the core faculty who will be responsible for the development and supervision of the program,
including intellectual content, curriculum development, advising, and degree recommendations.
2. Describe the plan to oversee, monitor, and evaluate the program.
3. Describe the academic and advising infrastructure for the program.
Additional Questions for Interdisciplinary Minors and Minors Proposed by a Non-Degree Granting
Entity
4. An interdisciplinary minor must provide a framework for oversight that is comparable to that provided
for departmental minors, including the continual review of the minor’s viability, subject content, and
relevance. In addition, an interdisciplinary minor must be formally supported by the heads of all departments on which the minor depends. Support for using departmental subjects in an interdisciplinary minor also implies a continuing commitment to maintain subject content appropriate to the minor.
Identify all participating departments and specify the academic unit that will be responsible for administering the program.
5. List the names of the faculty who will serve on the oversight committee for the minor.
6. Describe the review procedure that you will follow for this program. At a minimum, a review must be
conducted every five years and cover the issues noted on p. 2 of the instructions.
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Proposal for New Undergraduate Minor
IV. Letters of Support
Letters of support from heads and chairs of all involved academic units and letters of support from relevant Deans must be provided. All letters must discuss the intellectual content of the program as well as
the availability of resources (including faculty, administrative support, space, and fiscal resources) to support the minor. The CoC reserves the right to request additional letters as it deems appropriate.
Specific documentation required for interdisciplinary minors:

Letters from the head of each department that offers a subject in the minor; departments
must expressly acknowledge situations in which one or more of their subjects appears on a
list of restricted electives for a minor.

Letter of support from the School Dean who will assume responsibility for the minor.

Letter of approval from the CUP.

If a HASS minor, all the documentation required for HASS minors.
Specific documentation required for HASS minors:

Letter of acknowledgement from the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences that the
minor qualifies as a HASS minor.

Statement from the sponsors agreeing to administer the minor in accordance with rules and
policies governing HASS minors.

For a proposal to establish an interdisciplinary HASS minor, include all the documentation
required for an interdisciplinary minor.
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