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Individualized Studies (Western Program)

The Individualized Studies (BA) major within the College of Arts and Science provides students with the opportunity to develop a personalized plan of study. This interdisciplinary program allows for integrated and intentional learning by each student and culminates with a senior research project that serves as an entry point to graduate study or a rewarding career.

Academics

Our innovative curriculum enables you to integrate your varied interests through a major in Individualized Studies or a minor in Individualized Studies.

Western Program Courses
Nicholas Money working with a group of students in the woods.

Major

The Major in Individualized Studies (BA) offers you the opportunity to individualize your course of study by integrating your interests within an interdisciplinary framework. Our introductory courses engage you in integrative, individualized learning. An inquiry-based set of courses emphasizes understanding diverse theories and methodologies that enable you to explore and develop your own projects. The Individualized Studies major is suited for students interested in careers in diverse fields including, but not limited to:

  • education
  • environmental consulting
  • psychology
  • politics
  • business
  • creative arts
  • media industries

Senior Projects

Major Program Requirements
A water bottle with the Western Individualized Studies logo on it with yellow flowers in the background.

Minor

The Minor in Individualized Studies is available to students in all majors and is designed to broaden their educational experience and widen professional opportunities. The pair of required WST courses teach students to integrate knowledge from a range of disciplines and perspectives. These serve as an introduction to student exploration of individually-created themes that have captured their interests through courses offered by other programs and majors. Plan of study for each student must be approved by Western Program advisor.
Minor Program Requirements

Independent Thinkers

Miami University's Western Program is dedicated to developing students as independent thinkers with the skills to address the complex challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

Classes taught by Western Program faculty engage students in interdisciplinary thinking and form a foundation for individualized and integrated study that draws from the humanities, sciences, arts, social sciences, and professional programs.

The program is centered in historic Peabody Hall where students and faculty work as members of a diverse community of motivated peers. The Western Program values that diversity as well as discovery, creativity, risk-taking, co-curricular learning, and active citizenship.

If you are intellectually adventurous, independently minded, and eager to participate in an exciting new program, then designing a unique course of study with the support of Western faculty might be right for you!

A Western Student speaking at graduation

That's So Western

    "Miami's Western Program provides an academic home for students committed to a high degree of personal responsibility for their educational growth. The individualized plan of study is supported by a suite of core classes that teach students how to approach complex questions by critical thinking and objective analysis from multiple perspectives. This interdisciplinary approach is one of the foundations of the Western Program. Additional learning outcomes reinforced by the degree include student mastery of written and verbal communication. These professional skills position our graduates to take full advantage of the opportunities of the modern international workplace."

    Nicholas P. Money, Former Director

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Western Center

The Western Center for Social Impact and Innovation is housed in historic Peabody Hall, located on Miami University's Western Campus. Named for Helen Peabody, the first head of Western College, the iconic building is the oldest building on Western soil and recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

The Western Center is located in Room 022 of the ground floor of Peabody Hall. As a feature of the Western Program (Individualized Studies major) at Miami, the center is a space for intellectual inquiry, sharing ideas, and free-spirited discussion.

Western Center for Social Impact and Innovation
Western students and faculty/staff enjoy some field work fun.

Advising

Zackary Hill, Coordinator and Advisor of the Individualized Studies (Western Program), has ten years of experience in academia as either an instructor or an advisor. For further information about Individualized Studies, please contact:

Zackary Hill
Coordinator and Advisor, Individualized Studies (Western Program)
114 Peabody Hall
(513) 529-3796
hillzd@MiamiOH.edu

Arts and Science Academic Advising can also help with:

  • Miami Plan & College of Arts and Science Requirements
  • Course Selection
  • Career Decision Making

Senior Projects

2025

Trevor Bowerman

Affect Theory in Advertising: Why We Have a Coke with Our Smile

Tyler Kennedy Brazelton

Autistic and Neurotyptical Children: Developmental Differences and Diagnostic Challenges

Briana Jaide Collins

From Victorian Britain to Contemporary America: A Consideration of Marital Rights

Sarah Flowers

The Hierarchies Found in the U.S. Prison System

Grace Gaston

Navigating Disability in Higher Education: Accommodations, Administrative Burdens, and Peer Judgment

Emma Gibbs

Functional Trait Evolution of Mesozoic Marine Gastropods

Gordon Eugene Gray

Health Care In North America: A Debacle

Abby Haverkos

Reuse and Refill: Gender in Sustainable Consumption Businesses

Michael Hollingsworth

Cheetahs + Humans = Co-Existence: Mapping Challenges & Opportunities

Lauren Kelley

The AI Election Strategy

Zac Kelly

Efficacy of Psychoplastogens in the Therapeutic Setting

Miko Lenz

Ethics of Human Capital in the Fashion Industry

Jacob Leonard Reich

Sports Nutrition: The Impact of Sleep, Stress, and Diet on Performance

Regina Roth

Into the Pipeline: An Exploration of Online Extremism

Katie Scheffel

Beyond the City Limits: Addressing Rural Healthcare Disparities

Kat Shah

Fostering Transition

Madison Shenigo

Food Additives and Pediatric Behavior: Where Do We Draw the Line?

Elizabeth Nancy Smith

Equestrian College Athletes: Understanding and Addressing the Hidden

Challenge

Indrid Tutwiler

Heart of Darke: The Arts Problem in Rural Ohio

Leah Vanasdale

Creating Accessible Digital Experiences

Jasmine Verhoff

Ecological Signage for Ruder Nature Preserve

Dorian Void

Basic Struggle and the Contemporary Chinese Labor Movement

Elena Ziccarelli

Climate Policy and its Relationship to Trust in Political Institutions

2024

Kennedy Brewer

Impact of Wrongful Convictions

Jackson Chase

The Best Meditation Methods for Gen Z

Samuel Fisher

A Comprehensive Analysis of Sales and Promotion Strategies in the Insurance Industry

Grace Foor

Federalism Questioned: How Abortion and Marijuana Regulation Challenge Constitutional Law

Kaily Gomez

Healing From the Ground Up

Dylan Halpin

Militancy and Ideology: The Successes of Rank-and-File Labor Organizing

Sarah Heit

Exploring the Effects of the Endocannabinoid System on Neurodegeneration

David Herfel

0 to 1500: Should You, and Could You be a Pilot?

Kaziah Horsley

Art in Relation to Healing

Hou, Congzhen (侯从臻) Steven

An Exploration of Combining Interactive Experiences with the Visual Language of Film

Dominic LaMarca

The Ethical Marketer's Blueprint

Savian Luu

Iconic Faces in Advertising

Cam McCarty

Perception of Miami's Efforts to Decrease Underaged and Over-Drinking

Carter J. McPhail

Supplementary Development Model for Elite-Level Athletes

Lucia Morello

So Someone You Know Is Gay: A Quick Guide to Everything Queer

Zachary Mueller

Cultivating Growth: Evaluating the Impact of Personal Development Programs in Corporate Settings

Izzy Signorino

Mind and Matter: Where the Two Meet

Chloe M. Thach

A Geospatial Analysis of the Role of Pb Exposure in the Development of Substance Use Disorders

Brian Bear Vogt

The Art of Trash

Katherine Watson

Fast Fashion Fad

Amelia Whitney

Family Chains: Beyond Individual Sentences

Kiersten Williams

Nature's Rx: Exploring Public Perspectives on Herbal Remedies for Mental Health

2023

Fisher Beasley

Evaluation of Impacts of Gentrification and Subsequent Reparations in Louisville, Kentucky

Daniel Bobrow

Coping with Doping

Lindsey Renee

Core Comparing Social Dynamics Between Three Troops of Captive Western Lowland Gorillas

Gio Cruz

Issues within America’s Capitalist Food System and its Relationship to Health and Sports Performance in Americans

Ian Dennis

A Systemic Review of Trauma Therapy and its Ability to Forge Bonds of Trust in Those Who Have Had None

Christopher J. Freeman

The Value of Choice: Understanding how the Affordances of Video Game Media Shape the Development of Narrative

Kit Gladieux

And All of Us Merely Players: Gender-Conscious Casting in Live Theatre

Jacob Gonzalez

Improving Financial Literacy on Miami University's Campus.

Tayshaun Huff

Intersecting Disciplines

Logan Iams

Prescription Problem: Exploring the Opioid Epidemic

Simone Mardell

An Analysis of America's School Lunch System

Clayton Miller

Beyond the Sales Pitch: An Analysis of the Ethical Considerations in the Physician-Medical Sales Representative Relationship

Kenan James

Osmanagic Community Agriculture

Lauren Ralph

Life by Lauren Ralph: A Mini Memoir About My Health & Wellness Journey and the Creation of My Business

Kelly Michelle Stockmann

A Qualitative Review of Enrichment Programs for Felids in Midwestern Zoos

Mitchell Thornton

Ohio to Nevada: The Hindsight Approach to Sports Betting in the Economy

Olivia Triance

Examining Animal Ethics- Actions for and Against Animal Testing

Rian Tucker

The Prevalence of Trans-Exclusionary Policies on Trans Youth and Their Families

Aiyana Jasmine White

Human Sexuality Studies: Research, Action, and Experience

2022

Audrey Baker

An Ethical Framework for Documentary Filmmaking

Eliana Balit

Cultural Exchange and Ecology in the Pre-Columbian Great Lakes Regional

Steven Beltsos

The Renovation of a Historic Restaurant

Jake Berger

Mountain Minutes; a podcast on life close to nature

Zoe Blake

Economics of Spirituality

Jade Cessna

Sustainability Ethics in the Corporate World; A Grassroots Approach to Environmental and Social Change

Cassondra Conrad

Urban Identifies of Sustainability & Oxford's Next Steps

Cayden Enix

Social Inequity in Disaster Resilience: Combating unequal distribution of resources in New Orleans, Louisiana

Julia Federman

No Whisk, No Reward

Laura Hampton

Out with the old, in with the new: a review of traditional horse training practices as compared to modern equine science

Alexia Harding

The monitoring of ethology through environments and enrichments: Analyzing the human perception of captive animals

Cam Iuni

Effective Sales Strategies: A Training Guide

Naiyi Jiang (Themis)

Secondhand culture in Chengdu China

Justin Kahle

Supply and demand in the construction industry during COVID

Alex Kalix

Environmental sustainability, business, and technology

Jenna Knight

Understanding Our Experiences With and Through Art

Jenna Landgraf

The Effects of Human Development and Climate Change on Economic Activities and Ecological Conservation in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Giavanna Mariani

Testing Color Preference in Domestic Cats and How It Can Be Applied in Zoos

Alexis Martin

The Importance of Ecopedagogy Programs and Citizens Science

Madi McGirr

@b0r+i0n: autonomy & regression

Carolyn Moore

Fiction, Fantasy, and Fact: How Narrative, Politics, and Ethics Influence our Search for the Future of Space Law and Human Wants for Colonization

Brenna O'Malley

Family Poverty and Homelessness

Olivia Phipps

Environmental Education Pedagogy and Girls with ADHD

Parker Readerman

Business & Design: The ESG Solution

Natalie Rozak

Reassessing the Process of Identity Development in Female Identifying LGBTQ+ Individuals: The Influence of Contemporary Media and Increased Representation

Brianna Salman

Sustainable Agriculture in Butler County

Zackary Shaffer

Organizational Impact of COVID-19 and the Road to Recovery

2021

Connor Moreton

An Oasis for Cincinnati's Young and Hungry

Jannie Kamara

Black Women and Activism: From College Students to Creating Collective Social Movements

Erin Belcher

The Legacy of Environmental Discrimination in Ohio

Gillian Arnold

Making Wine More Approachable

Jose Reyes

How Business Leaders Create Revolutionary Change and How These Skills Can be Transferred

Austin Hampton

Trajectory of the Fashion Industry: Where We Were, Are, and Are Going in the Midst of a Pandemic

Linden Bezesky

Interactive Storytelling: Constructing Fiction with Immersive Potential

Fede Quiros

Color in Film

Halie White

Creative Ontology of Self in Critique of Cross-Culture Applications

Claire Hellmann

The Essential Nature of Twin Research

Caroline Benzing

Accommodating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Schools

Support and Engage with Western

Continuing the rich tradition of The Western College for Women and the Western College Program, the Individualized Studies Program functions at the forefront of academic innovation and community-building with students of diverse interests and backgrounds. In a time when interdisciplinarity has been adopted University wide, the Individualized Studies Program continues to push the boundaries of traditional academic programs. The Program remains fully committed to nurturing student-driven majors reflecting the needs and passions of students that are not met by more traditional majors. And, the Individualized Studies Program creates and supports a community of these students and committed professors that celebrate and promote the diversity that the Program attracts.

Make a Gift

Engagement

The Individualized Studies Program also seeks engagement by friends, alumni, parents, and others through various forms of interaction and participation. The Western Alumni Association at Miami University (WAAMU) provides many different ways to support the program and to engage with the larger Western community. To learn more about ways to support the program through engagement, please visit the WAAMU group website

Designated Gifts

  • scholarships for incoming Western students (5860-001)
  • unrestricted — current program needs (5593-001)
  • Western Center for Social Impact and Innovation (5577-001)
  • senior projects (2969-001)

Over 150 Years of Tradition…

1853

The Western Female Seminary, founded in 1853, was modeled on the College of Mount Holyoke. Classes began two years later with Helen Peabody, a Mount Holyoke graduate, as principal. The seminary was supported by Oxford's Presbyterian church and provided religious practice and low-cost, high-quality, undergraduate education for women.

1894-1904

Western hired Wellesley graduate Leila McKee to be its new principal in 1888 and moved towards accreditation. From 1894 to 1904, the college was called The Western: A College and Seminary for Women. In 1904, the name was changed to The Western College for Women to reflect its status as a liberal arts institution.

1954

President Herrick Young brought an international focus to the curriculum in 1954. Under his leadership, Western recruited many international students and faculty, offered international travel seminars for its students, and emphasized global awareness and cultural studies in its courses.

1964

In 1964, volunteers for the Civil Rights initiative known as Freedom Summer trained on the campus of the Western College for Women. College students from across the country were recruited by the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, Congress of Racial Equality and other organizations to go to Mississippi to teach in Freedom Schools, build community centers, and register African-Americans to vote. Approximately 800 students trained at Western; three of these students were murdered for their activism. The Freedom Summer Memorial, adjacent to Kumler Chapel, commemorates the courage and commitment of all Freedom Summer volunteers.

1970

In 1970, Western initiated another curricular innovation by implementing an interdisciplinary approach to education called "Freedom with Responsibility." Men were admitted in 1971.

1974

Western merged with Miami University in 1974 and became a nationally known leader in the field of interdisciplinary education. In its new institutional home in the College of Arts and Science, the Western Program continues to draw inspiration from its predecessors, aiming to honor the intellectual legacies of Western College and the Western College Program, and to build a diverse community of learners from around the university.

Western's Historic Campus

Peabody Hall is the traditional home of the Western Program. Listed on the National Register for Historic Places, Peabody is a living-learning residence hall that also includes faculty offices, classrooms, learning resource centers, and a theater/lecture hall.

"New Hall" was dedicated in 1904 during Western's commencement activities. This residence hall was renamed to McKee Hall in 1917 to honor Leila S. McKee, president emerita and trustee of the college.

In 1924 construction began on another residence hall. Ten years later the trustees named this dormitory Mary Lyon Hall to recognize Western's relationship with Mount Holyoke and to honor its founder.

Peabody Hall

Individualized Studies (Western Program)

111 Peabody Hall
Oxford, OH 45056
513-529-2233
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