The Individual Focus Area is the part of a student's degree program where an area of particular interest is identifed and designed. It may reflect a field of study, a goal to prepare for graduate school, a specific career goal, work or employment, or an avocation.
The Focus Area is intended to incorporate 12 competencies that fit individual and/or professional goals. Students work closely with a Faculty Mentor and a Professional Advisor who has expertise in this area of interest. Together they discuss and agree on competencies and learning experiences that are appropriate to these goals.
Students write your own competence statements that reflect the kind of preparation required to meet career or personal aspirations. This work is begun in Foundations of Adult Learning, and continued with the guidance of the Professional Advisor. These competencies can be satisfied by SNL courses, transfer courses and relevant college-level learning from experience.
The Bachelor of Arts in Computing, Bachelor of Arts in General Business, Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and Focus Area in Leadership each have a series of pre-scribed competence statements in their Focus Areas that correspond to particular course requirements. See http://snl.depaul.edu for a list of these specific requirements.
Individual Focus Area
