The journey to choosing the “right” academic focus can be incredibly challenging. Almost 75 percent of students change their major at least once before graduation. Moreover, students can feel pressured to abide by a traditional curriculum pathway, which limits them from acquiring the niche knowledge they wish to pursue.

CUNY has a diverse set of programs with each campus possessing strengths that may be unique to that campus. For example, Baruch College is largely known as a “business school”, with the Zicklin School of Business, which includes areas of studies such as accounting, finance, business, marketing, economics and marketing. Hunter College is highly regarded for its focus on health sciences and nursing, John Jay College specializes in fields of criminal justice, law enforcement, and forensic science.

Enter the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies, an option CUNY students have who want to design and manage their own individualized program. Originally founded in 1971, CUNY introduced the option as a way to account for a student’s right to define programs of study. Students are free to self-direct a program that is unique to their personal, academic and professional goals, as long as the program is not typically available on any campus. This is the Area of Concentration (AOC), equivalent to the major.

The program is open to all eligible applicants, who have completed 12 college credits with a minimum GPA of 2.8. Out of those enrolled, the graduation rate continues to gradually increase every year, with 70% of students graduating over the course of 2 years (CUNY). Students who are interested in being part of the program have to complete the annual application, which consists of contact information, educational history, area of concentration (AOC), the proposal for the intended major, a personal statement, accompanied with all supporting documentation (CUNY).

The Benefits of the CUNY BA program

In addition to the academic freedom and sense of flexibility, the CUNY BA program offers students an array of personal and academic benefits. Students have the opportunity to craft their own curriculum by combining or taking inspiration from various established CUNY pathways, leading to a stable yet innovative journey. Current and alumni are offered the support of faculty members, who mentor as well as advise. According to Dr. Jody Clark Vaisman, the academic director of the program, the program embodies the future of education,

An underrated benefit for all eligible CUNY BA students is access to additional funding. In addition to the typical financial aid, there are exclusive awards that specifically apply to CUNY BA students. These include The Thomas W. Smith Academic Fellowship, which recognizes students who excel academically, The Anne Duncan Somsen Memorial Fund, which strives to aid first generation students, and The Memorial Scholarship, which recognizes students that concentrate on human services, and even “Barbara Prince Opportunity Fund”, which helps all CUNY BA students through opportunity funds (CUNY). Dr. Vaisman noted, “Even though we’re a small program, we recently awarded over $340,000 in scholarships to students. That amount includes money for study abroad, money for unpaid internships, and money for undergraduate research.”

The support and guidance offered to alumni involves academic, financial and even personal resources. This strong sense of community continues beyond graduation, helping them create personal and professional ties with the CUNY community. “Another advantage of the CUNY BA program is its strong appeal to graduate schools and employers, who recognize that participants are independent, highly engaged in their own learning, and possess well-defined academic interests,” said Dr. Vaisman. “This distinction reflects positively on applicants in both academic and professional settings.”

A closer look at the CUNY BA program

The opportunity to self-direct and manage your own area of study comes with a lot of responsibility and pressure. The same flexibility that can be freeing and exciting can sometimes cause a lack of institutional structure. For this reason, the benefits of the CUNY BA program can ultimately become a double-edged sword. In an opinion piece titled “My love/hate relationship with the CUNY BA program’, a CUNY BA student shared their perspective and experience when navigating the difficulties of the program.

In addition to researching the program and discussing the possible outcomes with a trusted mentor, students who are interested in being a part of the program should first consider the responsibilities and expectations of a self-directed academic path. Being able to assess your strengths and weaknesses may be the first and most important step when reflecting on the future of your academic journey.

Crafting a Unique Path: Student Experiences

Perhaps one of the greatest indicators of a successful program is embedded in the shared experiences of students. Edythe Hghes, a student who graduated in June 2023, credited the CUNY BA program as being a major part of her education journey. Even though she decided to pursue a bachelor degree at twenty nine years old, she states, “ CUNY BA helped make that possible. By allowing me to take classes across the CUNY network, the program gave me flexibility with scheduling, making my life/school/work balance a little easier.”

Having lived through a similar experience, student Brittany Denise Lugo highlights the freedom that CUNY BA program provides by suggesting that what the journey we often categorize as unconventional or daunting can become an empowering and transformative experience, one that can broaden one’s scope. Moreover, Lugo shares that through her freedom to create her own schedule and with access to an array of scholarship opportunities, she was able to limit the broad major of history into a more concentrated niche subject. She states, “ So much scholarship focuses on the African experience following the transatlantic slave trade and before the colonization of Africa. I have found that I would like to expand the focus on the experiences of Africans through much of the histories that we already know of by applying Critical Race Theory to the early modern period.” When asked to talk about the academic paths of past students, Dr. Vaisman proudly recalled numerous success stories.

An advice to CUNY students who are considering joining the program, Dr. Vaisman emphasized the unparalleled opportunities and the convenience of the process; “It’s easy to apply, there are incredible opportunities, including academic, financial, and personal. We’re a community. We have peer mentors, and even students helping students. We have a student leadership council. We have activities. It’s just a really great way to find out more about yourself.”