Integration and Your IDS Degree

Hey guys! Welcome back for another week of mentoring and discussion. While Peter and I offer different perspectives this week, we're going to be working more closely together from here on out, to give you guys the best possible information. Hopefully our own experiences can guide your future decisions with a little more clarity.

As a side note, please always feel free to ask us any questions, and while we don't have all the answers, we have a fair bit of combined knowledge.

Anyways, here's the good stuff.

Peter's Perspective:
A very large part of IDS is taking the skills you will learn from your various field and integrating them so they work together. An example of this would be in my history classes I have learned how to thoroughly research and take information I find and determine its value as a resource. This skill while great would be useless in a classroom for my students unless I am able to integrate my knowledge of the subject with a form of teaching that will benefit my students. I need to take this information put it into a lesson plan and be able to teach a classroom how and why they should know this material.

For me this integration has been about looking into my future goals and what skills I really should be focusing on and trying to fine polish for my repertoire. I have integrated my minor with my areas of study by picking subjects that correlate. When I chose social science education I wanted to be a history teacher. It only made sense for history to be one of my areas of concentration. I now have extensive knowledge of various historical subjects and because of my minor I am able to put this knowledge into a beneficial classroom lesson.

This is all important because if you are not able to integrate the skill you have gained from your various areas and minor in my opinion you will have a weak basis of knowledge. This view comes because you are not focusing in on one certain subject you’re not mastering any subject rather getting tidbits from various subjects that are meant to be put together. The benefit you are supposed to derive is the ability to tie all the skills together and utilize them as one.

While I personally believe I have done a good job integrating my knowledge from the various areas of focus and minor there is always room for improvement. I have gained a lot of knowledge from my political science classes however I really don’t believe I have utilized this knowledge when it comes to my future profession of education. If a teacher asks for a lesson plan I always focus on a historical context rather then trying to use my political science knowledge. For me I just need to become more confident

Mary's Perspective:

Obviously, one of the most prominent features of an IDS degree is your ability to pick two distinctly different (although potentially related) fields of study and an IDS specific minor. However, the IDS program is not meant to steer you towards a dual-degree, rather there is an emphasis on the relationship between your areas of study. As mentioned in a past posting, one of my most integrated IDS programs was: Journalism and Social/Behavioral Studies with a minor in Middle Eastern studies. Not only did I have a purpose behind picking these areas, I had a goal, which was a future in journalism. Integration gives your degree more of a purpose- it emphasizes the fact that your IDS degree is more than a degree in Liberal Arts.

In terms of my current degree, my areas (once again, the Arts, Social/Behavior, with a minor in Humanities), each emphasizes divergent areas of study. However, I have been able to integrate my degree, it terms of the cultural emphasis intrinsic in each of these areas. Furthermore, the majority of my classes have also emphasized the historic relationships between various countries, along with their separate and unique cultures.

Personally, I believe that integration, in terms of academic development, gives one a more focused path upon which to pursue your education. Having a clear idea of how your areas relate, what you would like to pursue, and what you have learned from the pursuit of your degree also offers a form of professional credibility. Although I mentioned this in passing, it is essential that you convey the relationship of your areas of study and the skills you have gained through the experience when delving into a professional career of your choosing.

Finally, there are ways through which to more thoroughly integrate your areas of study and minor. First, while minors may be more limiting in their requirements, your focus areas are fairly extensive in their range. There’s a list at the IDS office (where I HOPE you’ve all visited), that details the courses permissible for each area of study. Your advisors are also highly capable and a priceless resource, they’re there because they want to discuss the potentials of your degree. Not only are there advisors at close range, consider moving beyond this realm and discussing your career ideas with someone involved in the field. They can offer plenty of useful information in terms of skills and the know-how needed for a given career. Furthermore, if you’re extremely unsatisfied with the relationship of your areas/minor, please at least considering changing one or more of these variables. There is a reason that IDS is so flexible, you need to have full confidence to stand behind your degree, especially with the saturated job market most of us will be entering in.

E-Portfolio

Mary Wilson on the E-Portfolio:
The e-portfolio is a pretty significant tool as an IDS student. Despite the fact that it does take quite a bit of effort and work, ultimately not only is it rewarding, but it's necessary for your degree anyways! In terms of how the e-portfolio demonstrates your interdisciplinarity, it is what shows potential employers and the like how your focus areas come together, and what skills you have gained from the experience of earning your degree.

In terms of my own e-portfolio, I want to showcase both my artistic and academic achievements. As an artistic, it's always important to present your work in the most professional manner, while highlighting your skill and capability. Furthermore, I believe that the portfolio can be used to showcase my multifaceted nature to employers outside of the artistic field, that is, I can use pieces of evidence to show that I am also a capable writer.

I envision my e-Portfolio as a professional, albeit creative resume. Above anything else, I hope that my imagination and personality are conveyed in the most positive manner.

There are numerous things that can be used as evidence from my different classes. In terms of my art classes, I can post works created in past classes, or even show the development of ideas into art. For other courses, such as Humanities and Political Science, I can use research papers as evidence, once again to highlight my skills as a writer.

Peter Leiner on the E-Portfolio:

The E-portfolio is something that is very important because it demonstrates your various areas of interdisciplinarity. It does this by having you take pieces of work and skills you gained from various sources and ties them together. It allows you to hone in on your researching skills while demonstrating your writing skills. It puts an emphasis on real life and your personal future by allowing you to see what your options are within your major.

I personally envisioned my e-portfolio as a running representation of me. It should never be a concrete finished project but something I consistently work on to better myself. The part of it to me that is most important and I would hope stands out is my ability to communicate. In your e-portfolio I believe you should directly reach out to your future employers. The evidence you place in there should display your skills and talents and help separate you from others.

Introductions: Getting to Know You

Introductions: Getting to Know You

My name is Mary Wilson, I live in the East Orlando area and work at a local restaurant. This is my fourth and final year at UCF, hopefully I'll be graduating this December. My two areas of concentration are: Art (more specifically Art History) and Social/Behavioral Sciences (mostly International Relations), and my minors are Humanities and Political Science.


Explaining IDS to others is pretty simple, basically I point out that you pick two areas of concentration and a minor(s). None of your areas can overlap, obviously, at least in terms of your two focus areas and your IDS specific minor. It lets me explore all of my interests, with a lot of room for variety.

As mentioned above, one of the advantages is that you are able to study a lot of different areas. However, there are also many ways to combine two areas of study and a minor in a goal oriented way. At one point, I combined Journalism and Soc./Behav. Sciences, with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies- at the time I was contemplating working as a journalist abroad.

In terms of disadvantages, there are also combos that, while interesting, are less structured. This shouldn't necessarily scare one off, because part of being an IDS student is knowing your skills and explaining how your courses shaped your career skills.

Hey how is going my name is Peter Leiner. I am 23 years old and I am currently in my last semester at the University of Central Florida. I enjoy watching sports as well as playing them. I live life with the idea that if you keep smiling and have a positive outlook nothing can ever be that bad.

Currently in the IDS program I have a study area of humanities and political science with a minor in education. This program is one that lets you seek out multiple areas of interest rather then a certain subject area and spread your focus. In doing this I believe the program allows you to diversify and become a more unique and well rounded worker. While it does have some drawbacks like any major would I believe the advantages weigh heavier. Along with being able to diversify your education I believe as a student you gain a better perspective of the thoughts of different schools. While I was in the school of education it was all about focusing on the feelings and emotional responses students were giving you. I learned how to stand and talk in front of these students and read there body language. This is a skill that will always be useful. In my history courses I learned how to really read and analyze text. I became a master of research as well as gained the ability to use the internet for more then fun. In humanities I gained a better look on people in general. Without this program I would of only gained one of these skills.

Introductory Post

Hello my name is Peter Leiner. I was born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale Florida. When the time came to choose universities UCF stood out above the rest because of three reasons. The first was location it was away from home but still a days car ride. The second reason was the high quality of education I knew I would receive from UCF. The final reason was because my brother attended UCF and had only good to speak of it. I chose IDS as my major because it gave me the chance to explore various fields of study while still earning credits towards my degree. I hope to continue my education after I graduate at Nova Southeastern Law School where I plan on studying Contractual Law. For right now I have three classes left and I am just trying to enjoy my last semester at UCF.

Hey Puffins! My name is Mary Wilson, and like the rest of you, I am an IDS student here at UCF. Although my original intention was to attend UCF to pursue studio art, I got caught on a couple hitches and went through quite a few changes in my major. Not only did I go from studio art to digital media, I also was an International Relations major, and an IDS major with a journalism focus. It has only been within the last year and a half that I've found my niche studying both art history and the humanities. In terms of my future goals, like many people my age and beyond, I'm not completely sure what I would like to do with my life. First and foremost I know that I would like to move out of Orlando, in search of new exciting opportunities and experiences. In addition to this, I am considering pursuing a secondary degree in Art Therapy or joining the Air Force for an apprenticeship in Mental Health services.