Degree Offered
- Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies
Nature of the Program
The College of Creative Arts and Media Multidisciplinary Studies (MDS) program enables students to earn a Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies (B.MdS.) degree by following an individualized course of study based on their own academic interests and goals. Combined with the University’s General Education Foundations, the degree allows students to choose three different academic minors to create their own educational plan. At least two of the three minors must be from programs within the College of Creative Arts and Media. The third minor can be from the College of Creative Arts and Media or from one of the other minor programs available at West Virginia University. Students who decide to have all three minors from the College of Creative Arts and Media can only have two from the same area (art, dance, music, theatre, or media).
Each MDS course of study culminates with a “capstone” project where MDS students demonstrate what they have learned during their time at West Virginia University. The capstone must be selected from one of the capstone opportunities offered by the College of Creative Arts and Media where the student has completed a minor.
Students in the College’s MDS program are welcome to participate in the many performance, exhibition, internship, and study-abroad opportunities offered by the College. Participation may require the completion of certain coursework and/or a successful audition/review process.
Scholarships and Financial Aid
The College of Creative Arts and Media offers a limited number of special College-based scholarship awards for freshmen and current students enrolled in its programs. College-based awards are granted on the demonstration of outstanding talent, academic achievement, and the demonstration of potential success in the MDS program.
Information regarding both University and College of Creative Arts and Media Scholarships can be found on the College's website.
For more information about the College of Creative Arts MDS program, please contact:
Recruitment Coordinator
College of Creative Arts and Media
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6111
Morgantown, WV 26506-6111
Phone: (304) 293-4339
Email: ccarecruitment@mail.wvu.edu
Admissions for 2025-2026
Acceptance into the College of Creative Arts and Media Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies (BMDS) program is contingent upon admission to WVU as an undergraduate student. Some Creative Arts and Media minors require that the student must complete a successful audition/review process in order to enroll and/or complete the course of study. When required, the audition/review is a preliminary assessment of a student’s potential for program success and should be completed before declaring the minor. Also, due to capacity limitations, enrollment in some Creative Arts and Media minors may be limited.
Interested students are advised to check the requirements for each minor of interest. Minor requirements are listed under the individual programs in this catalog. Students who wish to transfer from another major within the University are required to have a 2.0 GPA to enter the CCAM BMDS program.
Major Code: 3718
Click here to view the Suggested Plan of Study
Program Requirements
General Education Foundations
Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.
NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations | ||
| F1 - Composition & Rhetoric | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
or ENGL 103 | Accelerated Academic Writing | |
| F2A/F2B - Science & Technology | 4-6 | |
| F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 | |
| F4 - Society & Connections | 3 | |
| F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past | 3 | |
| F6 - The Arts & Creativity | 3 | |
| F7 - Global Studies & Diversity | 3 | |
| F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 31-37 | |
Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.
Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies Degree Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPA of 2.0 | ||
| GEF Requirements * | 34 | |
| Select 1 of the following: | 2 | |
| First-Year Seminar | ||
| First-Year Seminar | ||
| First-Year Seminar | ||
| Minor Requirements | ||
| A grade of C- or better is required in all minor coursework | ||
| Minimum GPA of 2.0 in each minor or the GPA required for the specific minor (whichever is higher) | ||
| None of the courses required in the minors can be used to satisfy GEF requirements | ||
| If a course fulfills a requirement in more than one minor, an additional course from one of the minor's list of recommended electives or advanced study courses must be completed. | ||
| At least 60 credit hours of 200-400 level coursework is required | ||
| College of Creative Arts Minor 1 | 18 | |
| College of Creative Arts Minor 2 | 18 | |
| Minor 3 (any University minor) | 18 | |
| College of Creative Arts Capstone | 2-3 | |
| To be chosen from a School in the College of Creative Arts where a minor is completed | ||
| Grade of C- or higher is required | ||
| School of Arts and Design Capstone Courses: | ||
| Senior Project-Capstone | ||
| Senior Projects in Painting | ||
| Graphic Design: Senior Project | ||
| Senior Projects in Sculpture | ||
| Senior Projects in Printmaking | ||
| Senior Projects in Ceramics | ||
| Senior Projects in Intermedia | ||
| School of Music Capstone Courses: | ||
| Repertoire:Voice | ||
| Major Project in Theory, Composition, or Music History | ||
| Residency 2 Seminar | ||
| Recital | ||
| Directed Study | ||
| Repertoire: Piano | ||
| School of Theatre & Dance Capstone Courses: | ||
| Capstone Experience | ||
| The Complete Performer | ||
| Electives * | 28 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
- *
Used to reach 120 minimum credit hours for the degree. The total credit hours for the degree may vary depending upon the requirements of the individual minors selected, as well as courses selected in the GEF.
Suggested Plan of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENGL 101 (GEF 1) | 3 | GEF 3 | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 2 | Minor 1 Course | 3 |
| Minor 2 Course | 3 | ||
| Minor 3 Course | 3 | ||
| Elective | 3 | ||
| Minor 1 Course | 3 | ||
| Minor 2 Course | 3 | ||
| Elective | 3 | ||
| 14 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 | GEF 5 | 3 |
| GEF 4 | 3 | GEF 2 | 4 |
| Minor 1 Course | 3 | Minor 2 Course | 3 |
| Minor 3 Course | 3 | Minor 3 Course | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| GEF 6 | 3 | GEF 7 | 3 |
| Minor 1 Course | 3 | GEF 8 | 3 |
| Minor 2 Course | 3 | Minor 1 Course | 3 |
| Minor 3 Coures | 3 | Minor 2 Course | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| GEF 8 | 3 | GEF 8 | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| Capstone Course | 3 | Minor 2 Course | 3 |
| Minor 1 Course | 3 | Minor 3 Course | 3 |
| Minor 3 Course | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total credit hours: 120 | |||
Major Learning Outcomes
Multidisciplinary Studies
The Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies in the Arts (BMdS) allows students to follow an individualized course of study based on their own academic interests in the Arts.
- Demonstration of knowledge and/or skills in two or more areas of study (minors) within the College beyond basic coursework and performance appropriate to the individual’s needs and interests.
- The ability to think, speak, and write clearly and effectively, and to communicate with precision, cogency, and rhetorical force.
- An informed acquaintance with the mathematical and experimental methods of the physical and biological sciences, and with the main forms of analysis of the historical and quantitative techniques needed for investigating the workings and developments of modern society.
- An ability to address culture and history from a variety of perspectives.
- Understanding of, and experience in thinking about, moral and ethical problems.
- The ability to respect, understand and evaluate work in a variety of disciplines and particularly in one or more aspects of the Arts.
- The capacity to explain and defend views effectively and rationally.
- The ability to conceive, create and practice one or more specific areas of the Arts.
- Understanding the similarities, differences and relationships among the various forms of Art.
- A demonstration of the conceptual and practical relationship between at least two areas of the Arts combined with a third area related to the student’s specific academic and personal interests and goals.