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Running head: INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 1
Interdisciplinary Studies in a Complex World
Interdisciplinary Studies is typically a phrase that individuals either have no clue what it
means or don’t truly understand it. When I tell others what my major is they always give me a
wondering look and will usually ask me what will I be able to do with it or what is it exactly. I
get excited to explain to them what interdisciplinary studies is and why I chose it. Honestly, it is
a very exciting thing to know I have had the opportunity to grow in several disciplines that I love
and not just one. I started college with too many passions, so many wants, dreams, and goals. I
felt lost and as if I would never be able to decide just one discipline to study. I wanted to do too
much with my life and for a career. It wasn’t until I was introduced to the Interdisc iplinary
Studies Program that I knew I would be able to accomplish all that I wanted to in life. I then
realized that I wanted to pursue a Master’s Degree in Social Work to only add to my dreams and
knowledge. The main thing I want to do in this world is make a difference in children and
families lives. Allen Repko (2013) says, “Making a difference involves developing the necessary
knowledge, skills and personal networks in the classroom and then applying these to the world
outside the university (pg. 20.)” After this essay is over with I hope you will truly know what
Interdisciplinary Studies is all about and why I am very thankful to have followed this as a
college degree and a career path.
Interdisciplinary means more than one area of knowledge. Interdisciplinary Studies is
having knowledge in more than one discipline. An Interdisciplinary Studies Degree allows you
to study more than one discipline. Repko (2013) says there are five ways to remember what
interdisciplinary studies is and what it helps you to do which are cognitive process drawing on
several disciplines, advance understanding, complex problem solving, integrate insights, and
applying your understanding. Interdisciplinary Studies gives one the ability to know the
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 2
difference between several disciplines & gives you the skills on how to combine them in order to
solve a complex problem with real world issues.
I like to share a metaphor about Interdisciplinary Studies with others so that they can see
a different way of looking at it that might help them to understand it. Interdisciplinary Studies is
like the sun. At a glance you see just one thing but really its several components rolled into one.
The sun may look like one thing but it has several purposes. The sun is used for light, energy,
warmth, vitamin D, and precipitation. From the outside most individuals don’t look at the sun
and think about the energy it gives to plants or the vitamin D it is giving but mostly we think
about the light. The Interdisciplinary Studies major is very similar. Outsiders look at this as
another major but really there is so much more than that. Interdisciplinary Studies gives someone
complex thinking, problem solving skills, a wide range of knowledge, and broader opportunity
for jobs, a way to figure out real world issues, and education in several disciplines. There is so
much more into both the sun and Interdisciplinary Studies than what meets the eye.
With the Interdisciplinary Studies Degree you can pick your emphasis that is a general
area of information you wish to study. My Interdisciplinary Studies Emphasis is Social and
Behavioral Sciences. On http://publichealth.yale.edu/sbs/ Social and Behavioral Sciences is
described as the understanding of psychological, behavioral, community, and societal influences
which also includes individuals who are disadvantaged all for those from birth to old age. So far
you can see how many disciplines that includes. Under the Social and Behavioral Sciences
emphasis you can study and take courses in Anthropology, Political Science, Sociology, Folk
Studies, Psychology, Social Work, Communications, History, Recreation, Women’s Studies,
Management, and Family and Consumer Sciences. I have focused in on the areas and courses of
Sociology, Psychology, Family and Consumer Sciences. Under these disciplines I have solely
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 3
focused on I have studied courses such as Family Studies, Child Development, Drug Abuse,
Child Studies, Family Relations, Parenting Strategies, Family and Child Violence, Abnormal
Psychology, Psychology of Women, Victimology, Child and Family Stress, Interpersonal
Communication, Social Psychology, Intercultural Communications, Early Adolescence,
Management of Family Resources, Community Environmental and Development, Foundations
of Human Services, Working With Young Children and Families, Family and Community
Partnership, Guidance Problems and Problem Solving Approach with Young Children, and
Marketing. I know it seems like a lot of courses to take in but I really wanted to put an emphasis
on the wide range of knowledge I have been able to gain with my Interdisciplinary Studies
Degree with an emphasis in Social and Behavioral Sciences.
When looking back on all the information I have learned over the years I would say that I
have a well-rounded education that will help me in truly any career field I go into. I have an
abundance of knowledge that can help me solve real world complex problems with multiple
strategies that a typical one discipline graduate couldn’t do. If I am working with a foreign, low
income family who has a child who has a mental disability, I have studied every area possible to
help this family with the best of my ability. I have studied every area this family falls under such
as international communications, family relations, family studies, human services, Family
Resources and several more. You can simply look at all I have studied and pull from it the large
quantity of courses I have taken that can help me with helping this particular family. This is only
with my Bachelors Interdisciplinary Degree, after I receive my Master’s in Social Work I will be
filled with so much knowledge in so many areas that I will be surprised if there is ever an issue
or problem that I couldn’t figure out and solve. Repko (2013) also talks about how
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 4
Interdisciplinary Studies gives you the ability to recognize bias, think critically, knowledge of
ethical concerns and how to appreciate them, and tolerate ambiguity.
I believe that I am qualified to work with families and children in several areas. I am
qualified to help with complex situations and to solve problems that truly matter in this world. I
am also qualified in social and behavioral areas especially dealing with families and children. I
have learned a lot about Child Development from birth up to young adult. I have learned a lot
about families dealing with every aspect of abuse, low income, poverty, dealing with the school
systems, diversity, adoption, different family structures, family cultures, disabilities, mental
issues, psychological issues, sociological issues, economical issues, and I will end the list there
because I could continue the list for a long time. I also believe I am qualified to handle issues
dealing with the school system and families. I am qualified in making safety plans for children
and budgeting plans for families. I can also help families or individual people find the proper
resources that are out there for them for whatever they are going through and need help with.
Another thing I have done is observations hours with social workers who do home visits
therefore I know how home visits with families work. I have learned about child development
psychological theories, can use them in everyday families and put the theories to good use.
Theorist such as the following: Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, John Bowlby, Albert
Bandura, and Lev Vygotsky.
After given all of this information about what an Interdisciplinary Studies Degree is you
can see how it gives an individual a better opportunity in the career fields they go into. You can
also see that from my emphasis in Social and Behavior Sciences & what all I have learned I am
qualified to work in several careers. Whatever career I go into I will not only be able to improve
the quality of the job I will entitle by being able to use the several disciplines I am qualified in
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 5
but I will also be able to give insight to my fellow co-workers and employers if they are ever in
need of help. I say this because majority of individuals go into a career with one discipline of
knowledge and maybe even a minor, but I am able to go into a career with so much knowledge in
so many disciplines that I am able to look at each problem in several aspects and not just one. I
already am able to give insight to others in my daily life. I have been able to help a teacher with
an issue that a student is having with their behavior. I have been able to help a friend who has a
family member who is struggling with addiction. I have been able to make a budgeting plan for
my Grandmother. I have helped a family in poverty that was struggling with groceries by
providing them with a few of the resources that are in our community. I have been able to give a
fellow mother advice with her child who wasn’t hitting their developmental milestones and was
showing signs of Autism. I also have been able to do things such as raise awareness of child
abuse and domestic violence. These are just a few of the things I have been able to do and help
with the past few years just from what I have been able to learn with my Interdisciplinary Studies
Education. In conclusion Interdisciplinary Studies has given me the skills, the knowledge, the
ability to do complex thinking, how to understand strategies and theories, how to connect ideas,
realizing and understanding social, personal and behavioral issues, and understanding feelings,
values, and morals in order to enrich and better the community that I am able to work in.
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 6
References
Social and Behavioral Sciences Division. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2015, from
http://publichealth.yale.edu/sbs/
Repko, A., Szostak, R., & Buchberger, M. (2013). Introduction to interdisciplinary studies.
SAGE Publications.
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