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.
Hello! My name is Jamie Waksman and I am currently a fourth year student at the University of Central Florida. This is my first year as a non-education major and it is definitly a challenge I am facing. Nothing is too hard,but i get more of a challenge when it comes to school work and class work. My areas of study are Early Childhood ED, Behavioral & Social Science, and a minor in interpersonal/organization communication. I love all the classes I am taking.
ReplyDeleteI definitly find that there are alot of advantages by being a IDS major. By combining two areas of study I am able to learn about more then one interest. I enjoy broadening out my horizons when it comes to my education. I still want to become a teacher and hopefully an administator one day, but for now, I enjoyu that im expanding my education in anything and anything that I can!
Hi, my name is Eduardo RodrÃguez, and I am a senior graduating in May 2010. My concentrations are in biomedical sciences, and humanities with a focus on philosophy and ethics. My minor is in international and global studies (IGS).
ReplyDeleteIf I were to explain IDS to others, I think I would say that it is an academic amalgamation of disciplines into systems of thought, which is juxtaposed with the usual segregation and specialization of other majors. In other words, one seeks to become a scholar of more than one discipline in a way that integrates them.
The advantages would result from the broader perspective of study, since IDS students are less pigeon-holed, so to speak. A disadvantage, however, is that there is less in depth specialization in any of the chosen concentrations.
Hey everyone, my name is Samantha Krop. I am currently a sophomore at UCF and so far am loving it. I chose to make Interdisciplinary Studies my major because I have many different areas of interest and wasnt satisfied with focusing on only one. My current areas of study are Letters in Modern Language and Humanities, and my minor is Political Science. I love to write and enjoy traveling and learning about cultures other than our own.
ReplyDeleteWhen I explain the Interdisciplinary Studies major to other people, I tell them that it is a major that allows us to integrate many different studies into one main focus. Interdisciplinary Studies allows us to learn on a more broad spectrum than any other major, and in the end to be overall very well rounded.
I see only advantages to having an interdisciplinary education. I value knowledge greatly and I think its important to learn about many different aspects of life, rather than focusing in on just one. Also, in reality we are faced with problems of varying natures that require us to have knowledge of many areas of study. With an interdisciplinary education, I feel that I will be very well rounded and well equipped to handle situations of interdisciplinary nature.