A Reflection on My First Semester in IDS

When I came to Plymouth State, I had absolutely no idea what this major entailed, or that it even existed. I had only heard mentioning of it once before- a girl in my abnormal psychology class was listed on the attendance sheet as an interdisciplinary studies student, but I honestly though that was the equivalent to a liberal arts degree. After learning how the major worked and consequently switching my major, I still only had a basic understanding of what interdisciplinarity is and how it exists in the world beyond academia. I thought that this class would simply be creating the major and that we would spend the entire semester working on our individual programs, but I wasn’t sure what the class would entail beyond that. I definitely would not have been able to define interdisciplinarity in my own words before taking this class. After taking the class and learning about interdisciplinary theory, I have been able to come up with a personal definition of interdisciplinary. For me, interdisciplinary means taking knowledge and skills from different disciplines and using them simultaneously to approach a problem.

After talking to a lot of friends and family, I think that interdisciplinary degrees should be common place in universities. When I went home for winter break, I went over to my best friend’s house and as I was explaining to her what I was doing at school, her dad jumped in and told me how he wished that something like that had existed when he was in college. He was a history major, but he also had a passion for Russian, and at that time it hadn’t been possible for him to study both. I think one of the most important things that an IDS degree does is allow students to divulge in several passions. There is no compromise, no settling- students have the ability to be themselves without forcing their studies into one box and giving up a part of themselves. I don’t think I know a single person who is only interested in one subject, so what is the point in making them choose? Oftentimes, students will pick a major that will give them the best chance of getting a job after college or that will give them a job that pays a lot of money, and I’ve found that a lot of times it’s not what they are passionate about.

One of the first articles that we read was an article called “Brainology”, which was an article that discussed two concepts- fixed intelligence in comparison to a growth mindset. I have really seen the application of a growth mindset in the Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies class here at PSU, a class that has been completely different from any other class that I have taken in the past. This class is a pass/no pass class, meaning that there are no official letter grades given at the end or at any point during the class. In the midst of this class Professor Cheney explained that this was a deliberate decision made by the interdisciplinary department. Instead of focusing on or being motivated only by a grade, he really wanted us to focus on learning and bettering ourselves. While I understand how grades can be used as a tool to measure how much students learn, I think it is important to move away from this strict concept. After students finish their education, they will not be graded in this way ever again. It’s more important to focus on how much you learn, the skills that you have gained and the knowledge that you get from a class (as the growth mindset exemplifies) rather that a letter grade. I know for me this is definitely something that I need to work, as I find myself getting caught up in an unrelenting need to receive As in my classes and being disappointed in myself when I don’t, even if I learned a lot. I think that moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset will give students more self confidence, better mental health, and better prepare them for life after school.

Another set of articles that I found interesting were the articles from week 7 of the class. These articles explained the differences between several terms that have to do with the realm of interdisciplinarity- terms such as transdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and disciplines. I found this week to be incredibly helpful as before the class had started I definitely could not have even explained what interdisciplinarity is. Originally, my working definition of interdisciplinarity was what I know now to be more along the lines of what multidisciplinarity is. I thought that this program was simply taking classes from different majors at the same time, but now I have realized that is combining several departments in order to create a personalized major. The classes are not taking independently of one another, but taken deliberately so that they compliment each other. The article “The Big Terms” does an excellent job at explaining what each term means using fruit metaphors. I thought that the major would be multidisciplinary, like a fruit salad, rather than interdisciplinary, like a fruit smoothie. It’s not that you are just taking classes from different departments, it’s integrating two departments. I have noticed that many of my classes talk about similar subjects but with different approaches, which has ultimately made me a better student. Currently, I am taking a political science class about terrorism, a forensic science class and a psychology and law class that oftentimes touch on the same topics, but approach them as their respective departments. Because I am in all three classes, I have a deeper knowledge and better understanding of these topics which has pushed my education further.

Another assignment that I found helpful was ePort #6, which was assigned during week 10 of class. For this assignment, we had to talk about an interdisciplinary success story outside of the university. In researching a subject for my ePort and reading my classmates’ posts I learned a lot about interdisciplinarity in the real world. We spent a lot of the first half of the class talking about interdisciplinarity in the academic world, but it was interesting to look at careers, concepts and inventions that are interdisciplinary. It also made me think about the ways that I can apply my knowledge of interdisciplinarity into my life outside of school. An interdisciplinary approach is a very helpful way to approach problems both inside and outside of the classroom, and I think that many fields are adopting this practice because they have realized how relevant it is. I also found it comforting to see so many interdisciplinary success stories, because I am hoping to have a career that is interdisciplinary.

In terms of the future, I am hoping to receive my doctorate degree in neuropsychology, with a focus in behavioral neuroscience. I’m hoping to eventually work for the behavioral analysis unit in the FBI, and/or be an expert witness in court cases. However, before I go to grad school I want join AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) for a year, which is an organization that does national community service and disaster relief within the US. I know that my combined background in psychology, science, and criminology will give me an edge in my future career and educational endeavors, and I’m really glad I found the interdisciplinary studies major here at Plymouth State University and am thankful for all that it has taught me so far.