Academics
What is Interdisciplinary Studies?
Interdisciplinary studies begins with the acknowledgment that some questions, some problems, some topics are too big to be understood through a single disciplinary lens.
The interdisciplinary student seeks to gather the relevant knowledge, methodologies, and experience from a variety of disciplines to develop a more complete understanding of the issue that interests them. This approach to education requires movement beyond the traditional major.
The Value of Interdisciplinary Education
Learning across disciplines fosters the kind of intellectual curiosity and critical thinking skills essential to success in future employment and graduate school.
Interdisciplinary Studies students will leave the university better able to understand:
- Other value systems
- How to think conceptually
- How to critically engage with the work of diverse experts
- How to wield their knowledge with informed intention
Curriculum
A major in Interdisciplinary Studies consists of a 48-credit-hour personalized plan of study including a 6-credit-hour core consisting of IDS 101 and IDS 499. The 48-credit-hour plan of study must include at least 21-27 hours at the 300 level or higher (depending on the disciplines chosen) and 24 hours from the College of Liberal Arts.
Required Courses
- IDS 101 – Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies (3) – students entering the major learn what it means to be interdisciplinary and develop their plan of study
- IDS 499 – Interdisciplinary Studies Capstone (3) – senior IDS students employ interdisciplinary methods and critical-thinking skills in a research project that links their plan of study with career and intellectual interests
The typical IDS student will enter the program with a concept for the unifying theme that defines the interdisciplinary path they hope to take. This path is then fleshed out into a 48-credit-hour plan of study (including IDS 101, 499) through scaffolded assignments in our Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies course and through continued consultation with the program director. The plan of study should draw thematically relevant course offerings from two or more fields of study.
Gain Flexibility in Your College Degree
Explore how a 4-year plan can look for the B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies.
Building a Concentration
Year | Fall Semester | Hours | Spring Semester | Hours |
Freshman | Writ 101 | 3 | Writ 102 or Liba 102 | 3 |
Modern Language (100-level) | 6 | Modern Language (200-level) | 6 | |
Mathematics | 3 | Fine Arts | 3 | |
Social Science | 3 | |||
Total Credit Hours | 15 | Total Credit Hours | 15 | |
Sophomore | Social Science | 3 | Humanities | 3 |
Science Lecture | 3 | History | 3 | |
Science Lab | 1 | Science Lecture | 3 | |
Eng 22_ Literature Survey | 3 | Science Lab | 1 | |
History | 3 | Plan of Study | 3 | |
IDS 101 | 3 | Elective (300-level or higher) | 3 | |
Total Credit Hours | 16 | Total Credit Hours | 16 | |
Junior | Science Lecture | 3 | Plan of Study | 3 |
Eng 22_ Literature Survey | 3 | Plan of Study | 3 | |
Plan of Study | 3 | Plan of Study | 3 | |
Plan of Study | 3 | Plan of Study | 3 | |
Elective (300-level or higher) | 3 | Elective (300-level or higher) | 3 | |
Total Credit Hours | 15 | Total Credit Hours | 15 | |
Senior | Plan of Study | 3 | Plan of Study | 3 |
Plan of Study | 3 | Plan of Study | 3 | |
Plan of Study | 3 | Plan of Study | 3 | |
Elective (300-level or higher) | 3 | Plan of Study | 3 | |
IDS 499 | 3 | Elective (300-level or higher) | 3 | |
Total Credit Hours | 15 | Total Credit Hours | 15 |
Program Examples
Gender Studies
The interdisciplinary nature of Gender Studies makes it a perfect match for the interdisciplinary studies major because it provides a critical lens and then applies that lens to real world pursuits and endeavors. What Gender Studies students share is a keen analytic intelligence and an ethical commitment to a better world.
Museum Studies
Museum Studies is an interdisciplinary field that explores the world of museums and all they encompass: collections, exhibitions, education, archives, research, and more. Our faculty from five departments—Art and Art History, Anthropology and Sociology, Classics, History, and Southern Studies—teach a broad range of courses to introduce students to the history and culture of museums and their basic functions as well as current topics and issues facing museums today.
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the study of how the nervous system develops, its structure, and what it does. Neuroscientists focus on the brain and its impact on behavior and cognitive functions. It is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary science drawing on the fields of biology, chemistry, philosophy, psychology, medicine, linguistics, computer science, and engineering, among others.