获得大学学位并不总是一条笔直的道路。 Life 可以 interrupt even the best-laid plans—but 卡罗尔Caronna, Ph.D., sees those twists and turns as an opportunity.

“For many students, that opportunity comes from a traditional academic program, but some students need more flexibility,” she says.

As director of 稳定的十大彩票网站’s 跨学科研究项目（IDIS）, Caronna helps students who need a more flexible path to graduation.

跨学科课程允许学生创建一个定制的学习课程。 Examples include national security and counterterrorism, disability studies, behavioral neuroscience and Black performance theory.

In some cases, students facing roadblocks to completing their degrees 可以 work with Caronna to use past coursework or experience to form a new interdisciplinary option and help them graduate.

帮助转校生顺利入学

Some of the students Caronna works with have transferred to 稳定的十大彩票网站 from other colleges after making substantial progress on a degree.

“These students come from other 4-year universities and only need 30 credits to graduate, but we might not offer the major they were working on. Or our major with a similar name might have very different requirements,” she says.

Caronna的一个学生在转学前在科罗拉多大学博尔德分校学习古典文学。 稳定的十大彩票网站 does not have a Classics major, but by working with faculty members who teach similar courses, she finished her degree as an Interdisciplinary Studies major.

NCAA学生运动员和非传统学生的灵活性

对于在最后一年转学的NCAA运动员来说，灵活性也是关键。 Some student athletes bring with them coursework from three or four colleges, which 可以 make it difficult to match them to traditional majors.

“Using the IDIS thematic option, we 可以 create a theme that builds on their previous coursework, incorporates already existing courses and speaks to their goals so that their academic experience at 稳定的十大彩票网站 is meaningful,” Caronna explains.

Using the IDIS thematic option, we 可以 create a theme that builds on their previous coursework, incorporates already existing courses and speaks to their goals so that their academic experience at 稳定的十大彩票网站 is meaningful.

卡罗尔Caronna

Returning students 可以 benefit too, even after years—or sometimes decades—away from college.

When students return after a long break, it’s very likely that their major requirements or goals and interests have changed. In cases like these, the flexibility of Interdisciplinary Studies 可以 really pay off. For Caronna, helping returning students graduate without having to completely start over is very rewarding.

We talk about success as if we orchestrate it ourselves, while in reality success 可以 depend on many outside factors lining up in just the right way.

卡罗尔Caronna

“We talk about success as if we orchestrate it ourselves, while in reality success 可以 depend on many outside factors lining up in just the right way,” she says. “It’s so rewarding to help students finish college after ten, twenty or even thirty years.”

传递爱

Caronna来自一个学业有成的家庭。 Her grandmother earned a B.A. and M.A. in botany. Years later, at age 88, her grandmother watched with pride as Caronna completed her own Ph.D.

她家人的支持是卡罗纳传递出去的。

“As a sociologist, I look at the cues from my family that gave me confidence,” Caronna says.

“I 可以 share that privilege with students, what I know and feel, so they realize it’s true for them, too.”

While IDIS isn’t the right fit for everyone, Caronna says helping those who 可以 benefit is the most rewarding part of her job.

“The IDIS program doesn’t work for all students: we have to be able to create a meaningful theme, and we need faculty advisors and academic departments on board. But if a student is eligible, we facilitate their best opportunity to graduate from 稳定的十大彩票网站.

和这些学生一起工作是我最喜欢的工作。”