Discover+
There's a Big World Outside the Box
College is all about discovering what’s new. In fact, research and discovery are baked into the college experience—from writing papers to conducting lab experiments. First we hypothesize and test, and then we make our conclusions—right? So when it comes to choosing the right degree for you, shouldn’t you have the flexibility to do a little more R&D before deciding on a major?
Illinois Tech’s new Discover+ degree program allows you to explore your interests, connect with students and faculty from different programs, and embark on a journey of self-discovery before declaring a major.
Illinois Tech’s Discover+ major comes with advantages:
- You can jumpstart your college education under the guidance of a professional academic adviser. You’ll meet with this adviser each semester to check on course progress and discuss your academic goals.
- You’ll have the flexibility to explore different majors of interest while completing general education requirements.
- Because you’re receiving personalized guidance, your transition into your major of choice will be seamless—and you can still receive your bachelor’s degree in four years.
Discover+ Roadmap:
Discover+ majors are not affiliated with a specific college, so as a student in this program you’ll be advised by a team of professional academic advisers. This will help to ensure that you’re exposed to the wide variety of course and degree options available at Illinois Tech, which will better assist you in selecting your major.
In this program, you’ll enroll in general education courses and choose courses in an academic program of interest to you during your first year. You may declare a major in as early as your second semester at Illinois Tech, or you can consider your options up until the end of your second year at the university.
Illinois Tech’s one-of-a-kind Elevate program will help you along the way. In Elevate, you’ll take part in guaranteed hands-on experiences—internships, research, competitions, study away, and more. By participating in a variety of experiences, you’ll find out which topics you’re drawn to the most, which in turn will help you determine the degree program that’s right for you.
In select cases, transfer students may elect into the Discover+ major with approval from Academic Affairs.
Program Overview
In the Discover+ degree program, you won’t be boxed into choosing a degree program right away. Experienced professional advisers will guide you through your first two years, helping you to select your courses, navigate different opportunities, and find the best fit for you. By the end of your second year, you’ll be ready to select and pursue a major that is the right fit for you.
Career Opportunities
Regardless of which major you ultimately choose, an Illinois Tech education will prepare you to innovate and lead in your profession. As Â鶹APP’s only tech-focused university, we incorporate tech into all of our programs—whether engineering, computing, science, humanities and social sciences, business, architecture, design, and law—which means you’ll be prepared to excel in the workplace of the future, wherever your profession takes you. Our one-of-a-kind Elevate program—open to all students—guarantees that you will take part in hands-on experiences that will give you the twenty-first century skills that employers seek. At Illinois Tech you’ll receive exceptional preparation that is evidenced in the outcomes of our graduates: the mean starting salary of our 2021 graduates was $70,444 (well above the national average), and our 2021 mean job placement rate was a competitive 92.8%.
In the Discover+ program you’ll take general education courses plus choose courses in an academic program of interest to you during your first year. You may declare a major as early as your second semester at Illinois Tech (after completing 12 course credits), or you can consider your options up until the end of your second year at the university.
Certain majors are selective due to high enrollment, academic requirements, and other factors. These include all programs in Armour College of Engineering (except INTM), all College of Computing programs (except ITM), Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Food Science and Nutrition, and Architecture. Therefore, if you enroll in the Discovery+ Undecided program and believe you will go on to declare a major in one of these degree programs, you are encouraged to take the ALEKS math placement exam prior to your first year and to take MATH 151 or your major-specific math and other required courses during your first year of study. Note that the architecture major does not require MATH 151 but is more selective and therefore has additional requirements outlined by the college.
SAMPLE CURRICULUM
First Semester
1) MATH 147/148/151 (depending on ALEKS results)
2) Humanities elective (HUM 200 or 300-level if transfer/AP credit for HUM 200) OR Social Science elective
3) Intro to the Profession
4) CS elective (CS 115 for ECE/CS degrees or CS 104/105 for all other degrees)
5) GLS 180
Second Semester
1) MATH 148/151/152 (depending on ALEKS results)
2) Humanities elective OR social science elective
3) CHEM 122/124 (required for all engineering programs or natural science electives)
4) Second semester ITP (CHE and CAEE) OR PHYS 123 (depending on math course) OR another humanities/social science elective
Admissions requirements ensure that incoming students are well-prepared and qualified to succeed in their chosen program.
Students engaged in a college preparatory or general education curriculum generally make good candidates for Illinois Tech. Specifically, we recommend the following high school courses be completed:
- Four years of English
- Four years of mathematics
- Three years of science
Once admitted to the university, all undergraduate students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above and a term GPA of 1.85 or above to be in Good Standing. A student must be in good standing to declare a major.
As a Discover+ student, if you meet the above criteria, once you’re ready to declare your major you may be admitted into one of the following degree programs: Behavioral Health and Wellness, Business Administration, Communication, Digital Humanities, Game Design and Experiential Media, Humanities, Marketing Analytics, Financial Economics, Finance, Industrial Technology and Management, Information Technology and Management, Psychological Science, or Social and Economic Development Policy.
If you ultimately decide to pursue a major in one of the following degree programs instead, you’ll need to meet additional requirements outlined by each program, such as completion of MATH 151 or other major-specific math and other required courses during your first year of study. These programs include: all programs in Armour College of Engineering (except INTM), all College of Computing programs (except ITM), biology, chemistry, physics, and food science and nutrition. Although the architecture major does not require MATH 151, admission is more selective, therefore you may need to meet additional requirements outlined by the college.