Components of the Rationale

1. Background/History

• What brought you to this concentration? What experiences, passions, commitments, and/or aspirations inspired you to pursue it?
• What is the focus or theme of the concentration for you?
• In what ways will it complement or add a dimension to your major and other course work?

2. What courses do you plan to take and why?

• List each course and explain
  • What particular angle, perspective, theoretical framework, or other aspect of the subject matter make it appropriate for inclusion in the concentration? (e.g., What does looking through the lens/frame of philosophy, political science, education, etc. allow you to see?)
  • What about the particular content and other components of the course fit with the theme or focus of your concentration?
• Discuss how the courses work together — how do they inform one another and your concentration as a whole? How do they build over time?

3. What internships, externships, conferences, etc. do you plan to include and why?

• List each experience and explain:
  • What particular angle, perspective, theoretical framework, or other aspect of the experience make it appropriate for inclusion in the concentration?
  • What about the particular experience fits with the theme or focus of your concentration?
• Discuss how the experiences work together — how do they inform one another and your concentration as a whole? How do they build over time?

4. How does the concentration prepare you for your life’s work?

Components to include and consider throughout:

• Personal reflection: What the course or experience means to you personally and (pre)professionally as well as intellectually?
• Chronology (Keep all versions of your rationale to show how you have developed, changed, revised, etc.; they can all go into your portfolio.)
• When moving to your portfolio from your rationale, think about how to best represent all of the above: Prezi? Word documents (electronic or printed) with Post-it Notes? Web page?