"This blog site is your new home mentees, and trust us.. there is no place
like home"
Hello there mentees! We would like to take this time to welcome you to your second home away from home. As your mentors, we feel that its absolutely necessary to provide you with a comfortable blogging site which you could kick-back, relax, and engage in conversation. When your resting from class, or taking a break in between time at the Rec Center, or even tired from long periods of facebook chats, feel free to voice your thoughts through our comment section! With that said, here's a little about us.....!
Hi my name is Cristina Gutierrez I am a senior here at UCF. My areas of study are Health and Public Affairs/ Behavioral and Social Sciences. My minors are Theatre, Criminal Justice and a certificate in CSI. The reason I have chosen to be an IDS major is because my interests and ambitions are very versatile and I wanted a degree program that would help achieve my personal goals not the goals outlined by a specific degree program. I came into UCF as a BA theatre major then switch to a double major in Criminal Justice and Theatre. But after the first two years I realized that I wasn’t happy with the theatre department and was bored taking solely criminal justice classes. At the end of my junior I made the switch to IDS.When I explain IDS to others I honestly just tell them it’s like a Liberal Arts degree on steroids. In my experience this has worked far better for me then trying to explain to someone what interdisciplinary studies is. The main advantage of having an interdisciplinary education is that you pick your own curriculum so you have the power to choose the classes that interest you the most and fit your personal and professional needs. Another advantage is that you are becoming well versed in various areas and are able to use this in your future jobs. The main disadvantage to an interdisciplinary education is the fact that most people do not understand what you are studying and some may find it to be a fluff education because it doesn’t specialize in one area or topic.
My name is Olamide Olufemi Borisade but I go by Femi for short. I think its obvious why when you look at that monstrosity of a name. However, it also communicates that my origins hail from Nigeria, an eastern country in Africa. I was raised in Jacksonville, Florida but moved to Orlando to attend the University of Central Florida in 2005. I am 23-year-young and recently moved back to Jacksonville while pursuing the rest of my Interdisciplinary degree through web-based courses. I am a senior and my areas of study are Life/Biomedical sciences and Behavioral/Social science with a minor in health service administration. One may ask, why all the sciences? I will simply answer because my major was intended to be nursing; however once I switch majors, I had absolutely no regrets!Many people have their own definition of interdisciplinary studies and what it truly means. Some may use the basic text book definition being research that involves two or more knowledge domains. However, I must emphasize to you that the proper and most fitting definition to refer to is based upon an understanding. You as a student and pursuant of such a degree must understand that your currents fields of study provides much insights. These insights are generated to answer specific problems. However, you must use all the insights equally to successfully build new knowledge that is needed to address the issue. This process is called integration next week!An advantage of interdisciplinary education is that you’re basically creating your own program to reach your personal goals. You pick the fields of study and the courses in which you may pick based upon choice and flexibility. It will help you in the real world because it will allow you to be very knowledgeable and well rounded in a number of areas. This will be most fitting when employees are determining who has a wide range of experience for a specific job or position. There are other disadvantages though, such as not having one area of mastery. For example, you may be good in math and science; however you’re not as smart in math to pursue a rocket science profession as someone who was an engineer may do so easily. Another disadvantage to be considered would be timing. There should be a balance between each discipline to allow you to be partially aware or informed of the study. Finding this balance may require much thought and self-evaluation.
Hello everybody! My name is Alexis Quittner and I am a Senior here at the best school in the world, UCF. I am currently an interdisciplinary studies major which is obviously what brings be here. My two concentrations are Arts(specifically theater) and Communications. My minor is marketing. Explaining this major doesn’t have to take forever like everyone thinks. When people ask what im graduating with I tell them Im getting a Bachelors of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies. I follow the “whats that?” question with “It’s a way to double major with a minor and graduate on time.” That answer is always followed with a chuckle and an impressive glance. People love this major because it makes you qualified to do more than one thing and makes you a better candidate for graduate schools.
I could go on for days about the advantages of this major but I’ll just pick one instead. We all get to study everything that interests us! We don’t have to limit our mind to one subject. We can use it to our full potential and get as much knowledge as possible out of our undergraduate degree.
This is simply just one of our blogs that we will share this semester. We hope to interact with you all in future blogs as well that will cover IDS topics. Well now that we've introduced ourselves, we find it only fair and fitting that you return the favor and tell us somethings about you! What are your areas of study? What's your year of study and how having an interdisciplinary education has affect you (disadvantages & advantages)? We would also know how would you explain what your major is if questioned? Mentees, Please leave your responses in the comment section below. We can't wait to hear from you!
My name is Katherine Little, but I go by Katie. I am a first year junior, in my second semester here at UCF. I graduated Valencia in May '09 with a General Studies degree, and began UCF last fall. My areas of study are Film and Communications, although I have not taken any of these classes just yet. My minor is Creative Writing, and this is the area in which I believe I excel the most, so it's always a possibility that my order of areas may change. I am still trying to figure out exactly what I want to do for a living, if writing for a living is not an option. Teaching is something else that I am interested in, so education classes could be in my future too!
ReplyDeleteThis is my first semester as an IDS major, so I am still learning exactly what it means. The way I have been describing what IDS means to others is a "mix and match degree", where you can pick from a variety of major options and select two different ones that could potentially work together with a third area (the minor).
As I said, I am still learning the ins and outs of being an IDS student, but so far I think an advantage would be that you can study multiple areas under one degree, so if you are not as clear on what you want to do for a career it gives you the opportunity to explore several options with the flexibility to change an area if needed. As far as any disadvantages, I would think that maybe not getting as full of an education in one specific area, as opposed to learning a little bit of several areas. I would think there would still be an opportunity to take more classes in an area if desired, so that may be a way to combat the disadvantage.
I am looking forward to conversing with all of you, and I'd say especially Alexis because our areas are the most similar!
Hello all! My name is Sierra Allmand. I’m a junior in my second semester at UCF. My areas are Public Affairs and Communications and my minor is Leadership Studies. I haven’t taken any classes for either of my areas yet but after this semester I’ll be a little over halfway done with my minor’s classes.
ReplyDeleteFor me, Interdisciplinary Studies is my second major so I get to compare it, as far as advantages and disadvantages go, to my other major, Cinema Studies. It is definitely different than my other major. One disadvantage is that you’re not as connected with your fellow students because you don’t get to take classes with the same people every semester so it makes connecting and networking a little harder. Also, with Interdisciplinary Studies you learn things from several different areas of study but you don’t get to really dig into any one discipline.
I feel like there are a lot of advantages. First and foremost, is the fact that my Interdisciplinary Studies major is custom designed for me and my goals. Also, it gives you a wider range of knowledge which might be an advantage.
When people ask about my major I usually don’t go into much detail. Like Cristina, I’ll say that it is similar to Liberal Arts. Or I’ll say that it’s like getting a Bachelors for completing three minors. Usually, I leave it at that but if people ask more questions about it, I might go into more detail to explain some of the advantages and talk about the cornerstone class.
I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone this semester! Hope you all have a great weekend!
- Sierra Allmand
sierra.allmand@gmail.com
Hi, my name is Stephanie Huber. I am a Senior with an expected graduation date of December 2010. My minors are Mass Communication, Marketing, and Digital Media with my preferences geared towards Digital Media and Mass Communication. I would love to take my areas of study and go on to be an art director in an ad agency in the future.
ReplyDeleteI normally tell people I am an IDS major and then, once I've gotten the blank stare or requisite smart-ass comment ("so what do you really want to do"), I'll tell people that it's comprised of two areas of study and a minor or three minors. Then I'll go on to say what I hope to do when I graduate.
The main annoyance for me is that people who haven't heard about IDS tend to scoff at it a little before I explain what it is, which I find to be rather condescending and off-putting.
I do, however, think that this major opens up many more doors for me, as far as job opportunities, in the future. By having three minors I am more qualified for a wider array of fields than if I had just stuck to a singular major. It also gives me flexibility and adaptability.
Hello, my name is Ryan Rupp and this is my second semester as a junior at UCF. My two concentrations are Communications and Health Sciences and my minor is Marketing. I feel like I have more of a passion for marketing and that is something I will pursue more of in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think the IDS program is a great opportunity to learn about many types of subject areas. I picked this program cause I wasn't primarily leaning toward one specific degree and didn't want to waste my time in something I wasn't sure I would enjoy. The program has given me a lot of perspective on what I want to do with the rest of my future. I think one of the disadvantages of the program however is the fact that a company might not look at a IDS degree as reputable as someone who studied in the one specific subject area that the position calls for.
When someone asks me what exactly is an IDS degree I simply explain it's two majors and a minor combined into one degree. And I usually get a positive reaction to it cause in my interaction with others, they want to change their major cause they aren't interested in it anymore.
I look forward to getting to know everyone this semester and I'll hear from you soon!!!
Alexis - I think your explanation of IDS is an interesting way to phrase it. I may have to use it myself in the future :).
ReplyDeleteCristina - The "fluff education" is my issue too. I understand that IDS isn't a conventional major, but that shouldn't make it any less reputable.
Femi - I definitely agree that IDS is very helpful in the real world. That's actually one of the reasons why I prefer this way of learning to your typical major.
I find it interesting that all of us in Cornerstone are studying Communications. I also like how we all liked the flexibility of IDS. Did anyone have any concerns about majors before finding out about IDS? Personally, I was interested in Ad/PR but could not get into the major which is how I ended up in IDS. But, after choosing IDS, I can honestly say I probably wouldn't be as happy in a typical major.
ReplyDeleteHey everyone, Its nice to meet you all! =)Thank you all for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteStephanie- You're right just because IDS isn't a conventional major doesn't mean that it should be less reputable. Not everyone sees it this way, so it's our job to find a way to better educate them whether it be explaining our major in extensive detail or through showing them how well prepared you are for the position. Hopefully this class will help us all in finding a way to do so.
Cristina
Hello everyone! My name is Erika Leonard and I am a junior at UCF, although I went to St. Petersburg College for my first two years of college life. I earned an Associate's in Arts there and had many great experiences, not the least of which was my participation in the Karen Pelz Memorial Writing Competition. I've won awards from that contest since I was in high school--it encouraged me to write better and better. My areas of study then are Mass Communications and Letters & Modern Languages. My minor is Marketing to better serve myself as a freelance writer.
ReplyDeleteI chose Interdisciplinary Studies because I was not satisfied with the way other degree programs boxed you in and made you keep a narrow field of vision when it came to learning. I wanted a program that let me explore my areas of interest at my own discretion so that I might better shape myself to fit my ideal career. When I explain IDS to others, I basically tell them that it's a degree you build yourself. Most people scoff and brush it off as a fluffy liberal arts degree, but then I tell them that people with real, personalized skill sets do better in a turbulent economy than specialists do. When an engineer loses his or her job, what else can he do besides engineer? An IDS graduate is adaptable, and this is important in today's marketplace.
I'd say the greatest advantage to an Interdisciplinary education cannot be measured in eventual success or high salary earners. IDS teaches you to think in a modern, adaptable fashion that is key for solving today's complex problems. Not many people appreciate just how interchangeable and diverse most jobs are today; a linear thinker will have more problems than a creative one. Some disadvantages might be how people view an IDS degree. Not fully understanding what it is, they might simply dismiss it as easily as they do English majors. But hopefully, with a stocked resume to back you up, it shouldn't pose too much of a problem when job-hunting.