What is a Rationale Essay?
Rationale refers to reasons why. And that’s the purpose of the rationale essay, to explain the reasons why you've chosen the courses that are listed in your degree plan. You’ll need to provide different types of reasons--personal, academic, professional--in order to explain your choices for and structure of your degree. Academic and professional "reasons why" are supported by researched evidence that your courses meet the expectations of the college, the field of study, and the larger professional contexts in which you intend to use your degree. Think of the rationale essay, then, as a logical argument for the design of your degree.