Choosing an undergraduate major requires serious reflection on skills, interests and career goals. For students who feel limited by traditional program offerings, experts suggest interdisciplinary studies.
Interdisciplinary programs give students the freedom and flexibility to forge their own paths. They empower students to pursue varied interests, explore different perspectives and tackle complex issues.
“We provide that intellectual playground for the creative scholars among us who see the bridges between fields,” says Caroline Stark, director of interdisciplinary humanities at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
What an Interdisciplinary Degree Is and What It Means
In traditional major paths, students focus on one field of study. Interdisciplinary studies majors incorporate knowledge and methodologies from multiple disciplines.
But interdisciplinary majors shouldn’t be confused with double majors, experts say.
“In double majors, students are often pursuing depth in two different disciplines,” says Gary Bennett, dean of Trinity College of Arts & Sciences at Duke University in North Carolina. “And to the extent that students are seeing the connections between those two different disciplinary areas, they’re often doing that work on their own.”
Interdisciplinary programs, on the other hand, help students see connections between different fields. This integrative work is a central feature of the interdisciplinary experience.
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Students may be drawn to interdisciplinary degrees for a variety of reasons, experts say. Some students have varied interests or specific career goals. Others may be focused on global challenges, like climate change and public health, that can’t be addressed from the perspective of a single discipline.
The interdisciplinary approach helps students understand the complexity of these issues, experts say.
“It’s appreciating that no single way of knowing is sufficient,” Bennett says.
Interdisciplinary programs vary from school to school. Some colleges offer pre-established majors with set curricula. Some schools give students the option to create their own majors, in which cases students typically work with faculty advisers to build a curriculum.
Examples of Interdisciplinary Studies Degrees
Tessa Gulley, a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., says her interdisciplinary experience helped shape her understanding of the world.
Inspired by a “Prisons and Punishment” course her sophomore year, Gulley created an interdisciplinary major that combined her interests in criminal justice reform and psychology.
“Each department has a specific way of viewing problems that are going on in the world,” Gulley says. “A sociologist, for example, looks at a problem differently than an anthropologist or a psychologist would.”
By taking classes across different departments — something she couldn’t have done in a traditional major path — she was able to view the criminal justice system through various lenses.
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Gulley is now pursuing a law degree.
“If I hadn’t done my interdisciplinary major, I don’t know if I would have ended up going to law school,” she says. “Being able to take classes that dealt with the legal system in legal-adjacent ways made me more passionate and interested in how the law can shape and make change in specific areas.”
Many interdisciplinary paths are available to students. An American studies major might combine fields like history, literature and economics. A women’s studies major might draw on disciplines like history, psychology and politics.
Like Gulley, many students have also created their own majors, graduating with degrees in narrative studies, gaming and animation; computer science and ethical technology; and environmental studies and sociology.
Interdisciplinary Studies Degrees: Pros and Cons
Interdisciplinary degree programs foster skill sets that tend to be valuable across all industries, experts say. This includes strong critical thinking skills and a broad knowledge base.
Interdisciplinary curricula also enhance problem-solving skills by teaching students to think across fields. This prepares students for real-world issues, experts say.
“When we’re confronted with a new problem that’s emerging in the world, how do we, in real time, draw from all the different types of learning that we’ve accumulated over time to come up with solutions to problems that we haven’t seen before?” says Soyica Diggs Colbert, vice president for interdisciplinary initiatives at Georgetown.
Generally, employers look favorably upon interdisciplinary degrees, experts say. However, some career tracks may be more receptive to certain degrees. If an industry has more traditional degree requirements for entry-level positions, this could pose a challenge to interdisciplinary majors.
“It might take some time for recruiters in certain industries to realize that these new degrees or disciplines are also good feeders for careers in those areas,” Colbert says.
When it comes to employment and postgraduate opportunities, students should be comfortable articulating their educational experience.
“Another thing we hear from employers is that our students have an unusual ability to explain how their studies have prepared them for their future careers,” Victoria Rosner, dean of the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University, wrote in an email. “Gallatin students are great at telling their stories, marketing their degrees and thinking strategically.”
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However, interdisciplinary programs aren’t a good fit for everyone.
Designing an interdisciplinary studies major is an involved process, experts say. Students who pursue these majors tend to be not just motivated but comfortable taking full control of their educational journey.
Also, the nature of interdisciplinary studies programs — more complex and dynamic — might not be attractive to some students.
“You have to stretch yourself to think in ways that sometimes feel uncomfortable,” Rosner says. “When you find yourself in a classroom with people who are thinking about subjects from multiple perspectives, there is no single approach that will be taken as definitive. Our faculty will support you to get the tools and skills you need to advocate for your ideas, but we will not tell you what to think, or what is most important to study.”
Instead, students should identify what motivates and excites them, experts say. Schools can then guide students on how to effectively explore these interests whether through a double major, a major with a minor, or an interdisciplinary studies program.
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How Interdisciplinary Studies Degrees Work originally appeared on usnews.com
