Area of Study Guidelines: Interdisciplinary Studies for Students Matriculated Before Sept. 3, 2014 Policy
Sponsor: |
Academic Affairs |
|---|---|
Contact: |
Vice Provost |
Category: |
Academic |
Number: |
100.121 |
Effective Date: |
01/01/1000 |
Implementation History: |
05/01/1995 |
Keywords: |
Area of study guidelines, Interdisciplinary Studies |
Background Information: |
Purpose
To provide context for the area of study guidelines for area of study Interdisciplinary Studies.
Definitions
Area of Study Guidelines: This set of guidelines helps students plan their degree plans by spelling out what the academic world and many employers understand a particular concentration to mean. The guidelines are found in many academic publications.
Disciplinary — A program of study guided by the existing framework of a discipline.
Interdisciplinary — The simultaneous and interrelated study of two or more disciplines.
Problem Oriented — A program of study organized around a problem.
Professional/Vocational — A study which focuses on acquiring knowledge and skills needed for specific career performance and applications. It also entails inquiry into the conceptual foundations of the profession, the role of the professional in that career, and the relations between the profession and society at large.
Thematic — A program of study focusing on a particular theme or set of ideas.
Statements
A key characteristic of concentrations within Interdisciplinary Studies is that they bridge two or more program areas so as to connect or combine the different perspectives of those areas. These combinations and linkages can be developed in two ways: (1) by including studies from two or more areas that relate to a single theme or topic (e.g., various business courses and communication studies combined into a concentration called communication in organizations) and (2) by combining different area perspectives within a single study (e.g., political, economic, literary and social perspectives combined in a study titled Modern China). Most interdisciplinary concentrations include both types of study.
Some concentrations are interdisciplinary by nature and are already recognized and defined by the scholarly community, for example, environmental studies, cognitive science or Native American studies. Students with such concentrations may wish to examine survey or introductory textbooks and to study college catalogs to determine what these known concentrations typically cover. On the other hand, an interdisciplinary concentration also can be created from scratch to match a particular student’s interest. As with all concentrations, it may be focused upon a theme, problem or profession, or on a topic that necessarily includes several disciplines. Examples that illustrate some of these features (selected from approved student programs) include arts management, culinary educational studies, holistic health or writing as therapy.
As with all concentrations, the structure of Interdisciplinary Studies concentrations must meet the college’s expectations of progression and integration. Progression refers to a significant development in the program from introductory to increasingly advanced learning. It is usually demonstrated when the concentration includes foundation studies in the different areas and further studies that either refine the foundation areas and/or combine different areas relevant to the concentration. Integration refers to the concentration’s organization or form, in other words, to the way in which the different individual studies come together to support or define the concentration’s theme or topic.
A common way of establishing a concentration’s integral structure is, first, to subdivide the concentration into three or four major areas that in the student’s view cover the key components of the problem or theme of the concentration and, second, to identify which studies in the degree program belong to which component. The component parts might be entirely original with the particular concentration, or they might be borrowed from the guidelines of other program areas. For example, a professionally-oriented interdisciplinary concentration might be viewed as consisting of studies in: history, theory and practice. Or, a social science-oriented concentration, borrowing from psychology, might be seen to consist of studies in academic methods (e.g.,research or evaluation skills), disciplinary surveys, relevant practice skills (e.g., interviewing, counseling, problem solving), and integrated advanced-level studies. The concentration components could also be content based. For example, a concentration in women’s health could be subdivided into three main areas: studies about women, studies about health, and studies that integrate women and health. Note that the subdivisions of an interdisciplinary concentration are typically not the different disciplines or perspectives that make the concentration interdisciplinary; rather, each subdivision is itself a combination of perspectives.
It is when the subdivisions are combined that the concentration is defined as a whole. In recognition of the importance of the whole, a unique requirement for interdisciplinary concentrations is the inclusion of one study that explicitly integrates (or stitches together) the key component parts. In most instances, this integrating study carries the same title as the concentration. Depending upon the student’s needs, it can occur at any time during the student’s studies.
The written rationale also plays an important role in defining the Interdisciplinary Studies concentration. To provide an adequate account of the purpose and meaning of the concentration, beside the usual topics, the interdisciplinary rationale also should include an explicit discussion of the different program areas represented in the concentration; the underlying structure (method of integration); the nature of the integrating study; and the student’s reason(s) for choosing the interdisciplinary program for his or her concentration.
The following interdisciplinary examples have been developed as illustrations. Please note that these particular examples are not prescriptive. These programs could have consisted of any number of other studies or types of organization. The left column shows how the structure of the example was conceptualized, and the right column lists those studies that comprise the example components. The integrating study is marked with an asterisk.
Women's Health
In this example, the concentration draws upon studies from Science, Mathematics and Technology; Community and Human Services; Human Development; and Cultural Studies. Progression is shown by foundation studies in the different disciplines, intermediate- and advanced-level integration studies; and the integrating study, women and health, serves to capstone the entire program. Note that the structure here is by content rather than function.
| Health |
Human Biology Nursing Arts Personal Adjustment Human Development Health Psychology Health Industry in the U.S. |
|---|---|
| Women |
Introduction to Women's Studies Adolescence: Growing up Female Feminist Theory Middle and Old Age: Social Issues for Women |
| Women and Health |
AIDS: Special Issues for Women Mental Health Problems for Women Medical Approaches to Aging: Gender Issues Women and Health: Past and Future |
Professional Training and Development
This concentration combines studies from Human Development and Educational Studies along with studies from either Business, Management and Economics or from Community and Human Services depending upon the student's orientation. Progression is shown by foundation studies in psychology, education, communications and human services (or business) and integrated studies that are largely intermediate and advanced. The integrating study is an intermediate-level survey of the purposes and methods of professional training and development.
| Single Perspectives |
Human Development Foundations of Education Basic Communication Skills Overview of Human Services (or Survey of Business Organizations) |
|---|---|
| Integrated Studies |
Professional Training and Development: Purposes and Methods Adult Development and Learning Workshop Design and Implementation Learning Theory |
| Methods of Analysis |
Program Evaluation Tests and Measurement in Education Statistics |
Criminal Justice
In this example, the concentration draws on studies from Community and Human Services; Social Science; and Human Development. Progression is shown by foundation studies in human services, sociology and psychology as well as introductory surveys in criminal justice and corrections, by intermediate and advanced studies in the different areas (e.g., probation and parole), and by advanced integrated studies (e.g., crime and poverty, ethnic issues in corrections). The integrating study in this program is an introductory survey of the entire field.
| History |
Introduction to Criminal Justice Incarceration in America: A History |
|---|---|
| Theory |
Theories of Correction Introduction to Sociology Human Behavior Crime and Poverty Ethnic Issues in Corrections Crime and Corrections in the Middle East and Europe |
| Practice |
Criminal Law Probation and Parole Program Evaluation Statistics Internship: Division For Youth |
(Please note that a criminal justice concentration could also be designed to fit within the Community and Human Services program area or as a specialty of sociology within the Social Science program area.)
Students select the Interdisciplinary Studies program area for their associate degrees for at least two very different reasons. One reason is that students may wish to construct an interdisciplinary concentration or focus along the lines of the bachelor's degree program but with fewer credits. For them, the bachelor's degree guidelines can be followed although without so much emphasis upon progression and comprehensiveness. A second more common reason for choosing the Interdisciplinary Studies area of study is when students are either not yet prepared or do not wish to construct a comprehensive concentration or focus. In this case, all studies are listed within a single column and the program can be regarded as somewhat comparable to a broad liberal arts or social science major at local community colleges. The concentrations of such programs have no title, or they may be called general studies, liberal studies or interdisciplinary. The student should consult the mentor about the appropriateness of a one-column or two-column format for the associate degree. A program with a concentration in liberal studies, for example, may employ a one-column format or a two-column format that differentiates liberal studies and nonliberal studies.
Although single-column programs are not organized around a concentration or focus, they still have an order or an underlying organizational plan. The purpose of these programs is to introduce the student to a broad spectrum of studies that illustrate different (often conflicting) concerns, perspectives and methods of higher education's academic disciplines. At the same time, the program also can include foundation studies in areas that interest the student, in particular his or her projected concentration for the bachelor's degree (assuming it is known), and associated fields, regardless of whether they fall within an existing discipline.
In designing these programs students need to explore and understand the meaning of a broad spectrum of studies. Traditionally, breadth is defined by including in a program a minimum of two or three studies from each of the broad areas of the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences and mathematics. A slightly different way of defining breadth might be to include a couple of studies from each of a number of Empire State College's different program areas. The traditional approach will ensure that students will be introduced to a number of existing disciplines (such as psychology or history); the program area approach also will introduce students to subject areas where several disciplines are explicitly combined (such as women's studies or environmental science). Although both approaches, alone or in combination, are appropriate, they are by no means the only way of conceptualizing breadth.
The key requirement is that once students determine how breadth is to be achieved in their program, they must explain it in their written rationale. They need to describe how their interpretation of breadth meets their own particular needs and purposes and how it provides underlying structure to their program. Thus, the rationale becomes as important a part of the associate degree program as the actual selection of studies.
Applicable Legislation and Regulations
Related References, Policies, Procedures, Forms and Appendices
Introduction to the Area of Study Guidelines
Area of Study Guidelines: Interdisciplinary Studies for Students Matriculated Effective Sept. 3, 2014 Policy