Overview
The Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies, with an emphasis on Work and Professional Studies takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of work. Interdisciplinary learning is not new; universities developed interdisciplinary programs in the 1940s and 1960s, in American Studies and Women's Studies, and both remain popular areas of study. But interdisciplinary programs have gained respect among students, faculty and employers in the past decade, and have expanded beyond arts and humanities to sciences, business, engineering and education. Today's college students, including returning adult students, are less likely to pursue a major in one discipline, and more likely to study a mix of disciplines.
Recent articles in U.S. World and News Reports note the appeal of an interdisciplinary degree program to employers and students. Julie Thompson Klein, a professor at Wayne State University, stresses the significance of universities in today's world developing programs that help students discover answers to societal issues and workplace challenges across diverse subject fields (Kleiner 2000). "No single field can solve the practical problems we now face as a society?things like AIDS, poverty, pollution," says Thompson Klein. The challenges in the work environments of the 21st century require an interdisciplinary approach.
The curriculum of the Work and Professional Studies emphasis provides a framework from which students can look at work as an ongoing research project, blending the knowledge of liberal arts course work with courses that focus on the expansion of professional skills. The degree program course work focuses on issues related to adults as they move up in their careers, transition from one career to another, re-enter the workforce, or go into the workforce for the first time. An investigation into the meaning of work is a vital part of the curriculum as returning students increase the skills and knowledge needed in the workplace. The integration of theory with practice enables its graduates to confidently and effectively compete in the new marketplace through an examination of the world of work in the 21st century where "the only certainty is your skills, your flexibility, and your capacity to adapt to change" (Moses 1999).
We spend so much time in the workplace that not only should we study principles and practices that will help us in our chosen fields, but we should also step back and study the experience of work itself. Current research by Howard Gardner, a psychologist, documents and examines "the importance for psychic well-being of satisfaction in the workplace . . ." Studying the place that work occupies in our overall life experiences is useful to our development as professionals and individuals.
References
Gardner, Howard, Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, and Damon, William (2000). Good work: When excellence and ethics meet. Basic Books.
Kleiner, C. "Why the walls are quickly tumbling down." U.S. News and World Reports. June 2000.
Moses, B. "Career Intelligence: The 12 New Rules for Success." The Futurist . 33, 7 (August-September 1999): 28-35.
