Personal Essay Amber Malone

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

http://publichealth.yale.edu/sbs/


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 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


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.


References

Social and Behavioral Sciences Division. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2015, from


Repko, A., Szostak, R., & Buchberger, M. (2013). Introduction to interdisciplinary studies.

SAGE Publications.


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Personal Essay Amber Malone