If you can dream it, you can do it at the Johnston Center.
Johnston Center for Integrative Studies
Design your own education
The Johnston Center’s design-your-own-degree program invites you to create an education that is truly your own. Instead of being told what you should study, you'll be asked what you want to learn and given the tools to make it happen. That is academic freedom like you've never experienced.
What do Johnston students study?
What don't they study? Johnston students can pursue anything they can dream of. Working alongside dedicated faculty, they build a customized curriculum that blends courses from across the College of Arts and Sciences with independent studies, experiential learning opportunities, and study abroad. No two degrees are the same.
Recent Johnston degrees include:
→ Exercise Studies and Outdoor Leadership
→ Animal Behavior and Ecology
→ Interdisciplinary Approaches to Art, Identity, and Community
→ Biomedical Humanities and Global Health Ethics
→ Global Business in the Digital Age
An education like no other
In your first year, you'll take courses across the University's curriculum based on your academic and professional interests. This is your chance to explore as many new fields as possible or dive into a clear path if you already know your direction. As you explore courses, you'll also be laying the foundation for either a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. You'll also be introduced to the distinct features of a Johnston education, including the benefits of alternative grading through intentional approaches to classes and narrative evaluations.
Design your emphasis
In your second year, you will join the Sophomore Seminar, where you'll write your Sophomore Graduation Contract. This is the document in which you describe your Johnston emphasis, a major you create by combining courses and opportunities from across the University.
With support from your academic advisor, the Johnston director, and your Johnston community, you'll make sure your contract includes:
- Depth of academic interest: This is your academic major or focus. Whether it is based on classes from 2 or 5 departments, it is the deep focus of your education.
- Breadth across the liberal arts: As a student at a liberal arts university, Johnston students should be liberally educated. We ask that you find classes across the liberal arts that connect to your interests. However, we don't just check boxes here, and we will not ask you to do anything that isn’t meaningful for your education. At Johnston, you are in the driver’s seat.
- Learning beyond the classroom: Sometimes the best learning takes place outside of the traditional classroom. We honor this by encouraging you to learn experientially, pursue internships, or study abroad.
Expand your learning
In your third year as a Johnston student, you'll dive deeper into your Johnston emphasis. Many students pursue internships and study internationally through one of Redlands' global partners, including the University's own Salzburg Program. With guidance from faculty and advisors, you'll stay on track to complete your academic goals and prepare for your career path or graduate school.
From Redlands to what's next
Senior year is when Johnston students take on senior projects and prepare for their next step toward graduate study or a career path. It's your opportunity to look back on everything you've learned and carry it forward. You'll enroll in the Johnston Senior Seminar, where you revise your Johnston Contract and reflect on your growth. With a stronger sense of your skills, values, and knowledge, you'll be ready to put your Johnston degree into action after graduation.
A living and learning community
Johnston isn't just an academic program. We're a living-learning community that has been thriving since 1969. Johnston students live and learn together in the Johnston Complex, home to the Bekins and Holt residence halls. Inside, you'll find classrooms, faculty offices, and creative spaces like a coffeehouse, meditation room, computer center, art studio, and music room.
As an intentional, consensus-based community, Johnston students work together to use our community budget to bring in speakers, host live music and other events, and support community and academic projects. We also use a consensus-based restorative justice model that fosters trust and accountability.
See where a Johnston degree can take you
Johnston graduates pursue careers as diverse as the degrees they designed. What sets them apart is the customized education that prepares them to stand out to graduate schools and employers. Explore how alumni are putting their Johnston degrees into action.
Sean Dunnington ’15
Sean Dunnington designed an emphasis in Applied Playwriting. He earned his MFA in dramatic writing from New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2024 and has received prestigious fellowships for his writing, including as a Henry Luce Scholar in 2024–25 and later as a MacDowell Fellow.
Mollie Kuffner ’25
Mollie Kuffner designed an emphasis in Creativity and Expression through Art and Learning. She landed her first job as an assistant teacher in the Butterfly Classroom for 3- to 6-year-olds at Sunstone Montessori in Portland, Oregon.
Alexandra Kynev ’23
Alexandra Kynev designed an emphasis in Culture and Communication. She is now a junior account executive at the Brand Agency, an award-winning communications firm in Los Angeles.
Kellen Levi ’18
Kellen Levi designed an emphasis in Understanding and Developing Biotechnology. After receiving a Master of Prosthetics and Orthotics from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 2024, she became the prosthetic/orthotic resident at the Hanger Clinic in Portland.
Mia Lobito ’24
Mia Lobito designed an emphasis in Marketing and Media for Social Transformation. She is now the publicity coordinator at Lumos PR, a firm that specializes in public relations, award campaigns, red carpet support, branding, and social media strategy for behind-the-camera film and tv talent.
Jacinta Navas-Galdamez ’22
Jacinta Navas-Galdamez designed an emphasis in Metropolitan Psychology: Culture and Storytelling. She attended University of La Verne’s marriage and family therapy program, where she was certified in trauma and grief component therapy for adolescence. She now helps high school students transition to college and researches the therapeutic possibilities of tabletop role-playing games.
Chris Nigro ’22
Chris designed a degree in "Food & Sustainability" and is now Chef de partie at National Geographic/Lindblad cruise line.
Kendra Rolff ’24
Kendra Rolff designed an emphasis in Economic and Political Dynamics in Community Development. She is currently the communications and program coordinator at the Inland Empire Economic Partnership.
Peter Vargas ’25
Peter Vargas designed an emphasis in Ethics, Society, and Education. He is now a third grade teacher with Teach For America at Black River Elementary School.
Kenza Walthour ’22
Kenza Walthour designed an emphasis in Political Ecology and Gender Theory. She is currently in law school at the University of Southern California, Class of 2027. As a state bar-certified law student, she works for the Post-Conviction Justice Project, where she prepares and represents clients at their parole hearings.
Anathea Woirhaye ’24
Anathea Woirhaye designed an emphasis in Interdisciplinary History and Narrative. After graduation, she was selected to serve as the Virginia Barbato Intern in Collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. She is now studying visual, material, and musuem anthropology at the University of Oxford.
Johnston Alumni
Since 1969, Johnston alumni have made their mark in communities around the world. We love welcoming them back to campus to share their experiences with our students. Each May, we invite an alum to teach an immersive May Term course, and every five years, Johnston alumni return to campus for the Johnston Renewal, a weekend of events that celebrate alumni connections and community.
Take your next steps
Seize the endless opportunities and pursue your future at University of Redlands.
Connect with Johnston
Meet the faculty and staff of Johnston Center for Integrative Studies.
Location
Bekins-Holt Hall
N University St, Redlands, CA 92374
