About IDST
The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies (IDST) is the administrative and intellectual home for a group of distinct interdisciplinary programs in the humanities and social sciences that serve the teaching, research, and public service missions of the University and the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. The Department offers several graduate and undergraduate programs (please see links at left for complete lists).
While maintaining the identity of the individual programs, the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies encourages cooperation and collaboration. We define interdisciplinary studies as inquiries which critically draw upon two or more disciplines and which lead to an integration of disciplinary insights.
The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies encourages students to consider the aesthetic, ethical, political, scientific, and technical dimensions of human experience and culture and to recognize the commonality and diversity of human experience, beliefs, and practices. The Department emphasizes global and environmental interdependence and social responsibility as part of its effort to prepare students for a lifetime of cultural, social, environmental, and technological change.
The individualized nature of the IDST program is attractive to students with multiple interests who want to gain general knowledge and develop skills that are relevant to a variety of careers. It is also an ideal degree for students that are preparing for a career in elementary education.
IDST advisors actively help students tailor an education that combines their interests with a number of challenging, alternative programs that allow them to make discoveries and connections rarely possible in the narrower confines of a single-subject major.
IDST graduates rate themselves significantly higher than other graduates in a number of areas that are linked to job success, such as the ability to think critically, speak well, lead and influence others, and adapt to new situations.
The Interdisciplinary Studies major is an interdisciplinary undergraduate program leading to a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree. Instead of specializing in a single area, IDST majors complete two approved minors or concentrations from among about seventy approved options, including those minors housed within IDST's programs.
