A focus field is an interdisciplinary area of study proposed in the junior year and refined in the senior year; it should be associated with the student’s senior thesis topic. Students will be asked to submit an advisor-approved description of their potential area of study to the Social Studies Board of Instruction in the fall of their junior year. The focus field should include a minimum of four courses, normally drawn from at least two social science departments, and including at least one course on an historical topic. Members of the Board of Instruction will review this focus field and may request revisions; students should have an approved preliminary focus field on file by November 15th of their junior year.
Students will continue to develop and refine their topic up until the fall of senior year when they submit a final focus field for approval.