Students at the University are not limited to pre-conceived majors in each department. They also have the opportunity to pursue an interdisciplinary major which combines a wide array of topics - topics which often encompass three departments. The interdisciplinary program allows students to be creative and experiment with different topics which may at first glance seem incompatible. But, in actuality, crossing such disciplines may provide novel insights into a subject. While some majors at the University are already interdisciplinary in nature, such as the Archeology program, the Interdisciplinary Majors Program (IMP) allows students to actually create their own programs. But there are certain qualifications with the IMP option.
IMP is considered a Distinguished Majors Program (DMP), so many of the requisites for a DMP are also required to apply for the IMP, including a 3.400 minimum GPA. Furthermore, before their fifth semester prospective IMP students submit proposals for their majors. In addition, they must also articulate classes amounting to 30 credits from three separate departments. They do so to verify that the major being sought is possible within University resources. They must also find a faculty member in each department who can serve as an advisor. With the help of two sponsors, IMP students complete a thesis their fourth year.
If you have a wide array of interests, the IMP is definitely something to take advantage of. It is a lot of work - there is no doubt about this. The program does offer, however, the opportunity to study more than one subject in a sustained manner. And the application to the program encourages creativity, demanding the student look at old problems from a unique perspective. This approach to the proposal means it is necessary for prospective IMP students to develop analytical skills and be able to synthesize topics.
Then, after applying, the IMP program provides an advantage over single majors because it allows students to draw on a wider range of ideas to approach intellectual problems in their studies and thesis. For example, a student taking all politics classes will not have as strong a grasp on modern politics as someone who also has sufficient background knowledge in history and human behavior. In the IMP, students could examine real world issues to see if political behavior is in accordance with the psychology or the philosophy of human nature.
While participation in the IMP may not be feasible for all or necessarily lead to direct social change, more students should be encouraged to think in such an interdisciplinary manner, which is crucial for making discoveries. For example, Nobel Prize winner Willard Libby utilized topics in chemistry to make discoveries in the field of archeology about radiocarbon dating.
In a similar vein, Harvard University English Prof. Louis Menand recently came to the University where he gave a lecture on the importance of the humanities and on approaching the humanities with an interdisciplinary perspective. He had published a book titled "The Marketplace of Ideas: Reform and Resistance in the American University," discussing how an interdisciplinary approach would encourage the development of new ideas and theories.
It is this ability to pull ideas from different areas and still draw sound conclusions which the IMP encourages. Unfortunately, one of the main concerns with IMP may be that graduate schools could fail to acknowledge a created, interdisciplinary major as equal to other, established majors from single departments. In order to avoid this problem, a student could double major, with one major in the IMP. Then, with the security of having another, departmental major, students could pursue their interests without fear of penalty.
In fact, the IMP major requires students to do more than the usual amount of work by demanding a fourth year thesis. For single department majors, writing thesis remains only an option.
In today's ever-changing society, learning to look at a problem from multiple angles might be the cornerstone to solving a lot of problems. Interdisciplinary studies allow students to better grasp the big picture rather than keep to isolated academic situations. Such programs are key to better students and offer insights into society's myriad problems.
Fariha Kabir's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at f.kabir@cavalierdaily.com.\n
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