I never would have thought that I would start out an introduction by saying I am a Christian, but I guess I have now. Usually that is something that most people try to disclose at a much later date when everyone is okay with who you are. But now, when asked “Who are you?”, I am more than proud to state that as who I am first.
Next, I am a happily married man that is looking forward towards graduating this December. I am just hoping that I can get into a career that will allow me to contribute to the household. My wife and I are looking for a house right now, and we are looking ahead to start our lives together after college.
Next, I would like to mention that I am a senior at UCF. Originally I chose UCF as where I wanted to go to college for three main reasons. One, UCF was giving me the most money of any college in Florida. Two, I wanted to be far enough away from home that I wasn’t expected to come home every weekend but I wanted to be close enough that I could go home to Destin, FL whenever I wanted. Three, my best friend had moved to Orlando our senior year of high school and UCF just happened to be where he moved. Additionally, I was a Mechanical Engineering major when I came to UCF and UCF had great credentials for the program.
But, as I discovered that being on my own for the first time was quite liberating, I neglected my studies somewhat, and bounced through a couple of majors, and eventually ended up with a ton of classes finished but no degree. The Interdisciplinary Studies degree allowed me to combine all the education I received here at UCF into one degree, and now I plan to highlight that when I am looking for a career. By the way, I love Family Guy, The Office, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
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Ada's Introduction:
Hi! I'm Ada, and I was previously a computer science major, but I changed to Interdisciplinary Studies earlier this year. My minor is Computer Science, and my areas of study are Letters & Modern Languages and Behavioral & Social Sciences. I'm something like a fifth or sixth year senior, but I'll finally be graduating this fall. =) I chose UCF for a number of reasons: It was local and affordable, most of the rest of my family went here (so I was pretty familiar with the campus already), and I knew it had a great computer science program. However, computer science is no longer my major focus. I've been running a small art business for the last couple years, and my post-graduation goal is to turn this business into a full-time career. Changing majors to IDS served a dual purpose: it allowed me to pursue other academic interests than computer science (like anthropology and linguistics, both of which are major passions of mine) and it allowed me to graduate much more quickly than I could have if I stuck exclusively with computer science. I will most likely continue taking classes after graduation (perhaps getting a certification in Technical Writing or Gender Studies) but I would like to devote myself to my business full-time starting next year.
When I try to explain Interdisciplinary Studies, I summarize it by saying that I have a minor and two other areas of study, and part of my education is to learn to integrate these disciplines together. Most people understand it pretty well from that; if I get a blank stare, THEN I try telling them that it's basically a double major.
I think advantages of an interdisciplinary education include, obviously, a richer, more well-rounded education as well as exposure to new ways of thinking, like an engineering major being forced to endure liberal arts people. ;) Disadvantages might include only skimming the surface of some subjects instead of delving deeply into them like you would if you were majoring in them. (For example, I'm studying both language and behavioral sciences, but I'm only now beginning to study linguistic anthropology.)
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Questions for you:
Who are you? What are your areas / minors? What year are you?
How do you explain IDS to others?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of an interdisciplinary education?
How do you explain IDS to others?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of an interdisciplinary education?
Hello! My name is Ginan and I am an Interdisciplinary Studies major with concentrations in Commerce and Behavioral & Social Sciences. My minor is in Technical Writing & Editing. This is my 5th year at UCF but only my 2nd year as an IDS major so I have a little catching up to do!
ReplyDeleteThe way I explain IDS to others is by telling them that it's like a custom-tailored degree program that I get to build on my own. I stress the fact that it's unique and specialized, yet well-rounded and broad at the same time. I believe that the advantages of an IDS education are that you can take classes that you are interested in and, in the future, apply the wide variety of skills you have learned to the real world and to your career. Some disadvantages I can think of are that it may sometimes be difficult to sell your education and skills in the job market since some people will look at your interdisciplinary degree and find that you are not specialized enough. That is one of the reasons it is so important to have cornerstone and capstone for this degree program.
I also love It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I can't wait for the new season to start tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteHello! My name is Amy Phillips and I am in my 4th year at UCF. My major concentrations are Biology and Chemistry and my minor is Mathematics!
ReplyDeleteI explain this IDS major to others by telling them that it gives me a chance to take full advantage of my undergrad. degree! I want to go on to Pharmacy School and this is the best and quickest way to get that done. It allows me to take the prereqs. that I need (mostly biology classes and a few chemsitry ones) while also letting me take the chemistry and math classes that I enjoy! I love being able to work with and taylor my own degree! The biggest advantage for me is time. This major lets me finish sooner than I would have. I plan to graduate next fall and hopefully get in to UF's Pharmacy school by the following fall!
Joseph,I choose UCF for the exact same reasons! I am also from South Florida but on the other coast, Fort Myers! Most people haven't heard of it, but it is between Sarasota and Naples on the gulf coast!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to both you and Ada for graduating at the end of the semester! You both must be so excited!
My name is Ashley Weinbender and I am a 5th year senior here at UCF. My areas of study are life sciences and physical sciences with a minor is health science. When I first started out at UCF I was an M&M major but as the years went on I slowly started to rethink my options and decided I really didn't have the same drive to go to medical school that I had in the beginning. Although I still am undecided on what exactly I want to do with my future, I know I will ultimately end up working in a hospital or doctors office doing something so the IDS major has allowed me to take the classes I want without being bogged down my an extra load of things I dont necessarily need.
ReplyDeleteWhen asked about IDS by my friends and family, I explain to them that instead of focusing solely on one area of study, I am able to divide my time in two different areas plus a minor. While fully focusing attention on these two areas of study, IDS allows for me to pick and choose my own classes in each category. IDS allows for freedom when it comes to choosing classes and what exactly I want to be focusing my time on which is something I appreciate very much after being on such a set schedule when I was an M&M major. Finally, I explain that IDS in itself is a tool to help build a strong understanding of application of both areas of study within one another. IDS teaches us to obtain knowledge from our classes and then further use this knowledge in the real world by combining everything we have learned from both areas of study.
Advantages of IDS are the fact that I have the freedom to pick the classes I need and not having to be confined to such a strict schedule. Another advantage is that we are required to have a minor. Some people may view this as added work, but Ive found that I truly love my minor in health science and would have never known how useful it was if it weren't for IDS.
A disadvantage of IDS is that it is very new and still unfamiliar to others. Most people don't even know it exists as an option at UCF which is unfortunate because it could potentially help so many students that are still so unsure of what they want to do with their future.
Hi everybody! My name is Sarah and I am an interdisciplinary major with concentrations in health/biomedical sciences and physical sciences. My minor is in sociology. I am a senior and plan to graduate in May 2010.
ReplyDeleteI explain IDS to people by saying it is an undergraduate degree with two areas of concentration and a minor. Sometimes I say that it is the best route for me as I have changed my major so often. I actually haven’t changed my major that much it’s just that when I was younger I took classes without much direction so I wound up with a lot of credit in a lot of areas. Once I finally chose a major I chose nursing. But, in the last semester of my senior year I decided I did not want to be a nurse. So, it just simplifies matters if I say it’s because I’ve changed my major so much.
I think the advantage of an interdisciplinary major is the exposure to so many areas of thought and the opportunity to integrate those areas on some level in this class and the capstone class. I believe that with my areas of concentration and my minor I will be an attractive applicant to the social work program. I think the disadvantage of an interdisciplinary education is that it does not train you for a specific career. Potential employers may not know what it is and discount all of the work it took to earn the degree.
Ginan, I love how you describe your major to people. I always feel at a loss when people ask me about my degree. You put it into a perfect context. I've never heard of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" I think I'll check it out.
ReplyDeleteAshly, I competely agree with the disadvantage that you posted about the IDS major. That is one of my fears. I am scared that when the administrators of the pharmacy schools that I apply look at my application and see interdisciplinary studies they won't know what it is or think that it is an easy way or out to get the prereqs. that I need. When in reality I have taken enough chemistry classes that I am only about three short of a traditional chemistry major.
ReplyDeleteI hope that the IDS major spreads fast and that all schools start to offer and understand this major.
Hey Ashley - - silly question, but I'm drawing a blank... you mentioned you were an M&M major... what does M&M stand for? I'm sure it's something medicine-related, but I can't think of what it would be. =)
ReplyDeleteFunny, I was an M&M major also at one point, and it stands for Molecular and Microbiology. It is great to hear from all of you, and we look forward to doing this blog with all of you.
ReplyDeleteYou guys have brought up a lot of good points about the IDS major and what it may mean (or not mean) to potential employers. I think that just means that it's even more important for us to find extracurricular activities and experience (like internships, projects, club activities) which demonstrate that we have the skills and knowledge they want.
ReplyDelete