INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES—SOCIAL SCIENCES
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. What is the difference between an interdisciplinary degree and a traditional major, such as, business administration, sociology or law and justice?
A. Interdisciplinary Studies: Social Sciences (IDS) program allows a student to select courses from a variety of disciplines in an effort to gain a broader perspective and knowledge base, compared to a traditional major. IDS program also provides students with an opportunity to individualize their course of study, so that they could be better prepared for the next step in their lives, be it a graduate program or a vocation. For more details on this, please see the next three questions.
Q. What can I expect to learn through this degree?
A. Following is a list of official Student Learning Outcomes for the IDS program.
Students will demonstrate understanding of major findings, ideas, methods, skills, tools and systems used in a variety of social science disciplines, as well as ability to integrate learning by connecting information from disparate contexts and perspectives.
Depending on the specific set of social science disciplines chosen by the students, they will demonstrate competencies in critical thinking, effective written, oral, and other communication, creative thinking and problem solving, social interaction, leadership, and effective citizenship.
Students will demonstrate the ability to use appropriate technologies to conduct research on and communicate about social science topics and questions and to access, evaluate and manage information to prepare and present their work effectively to meet academic, personal, and professional needs.
Beyond these basic outcomes, each student would select their individualized program of study, thus learning what he/she would like to learn.
Q. What type of a job (and what level of salary) could I get with this degree?
A. This degree would apply well to a wide range of professional domains, such as social services, law and justice, business, and many others. Because the degree program is highly individualized, it is more fitting to ask you a question: “What type of a job would you like to get?” Once you make this decision, you would have the opportunity to design your educational program in a way which would help you meet this professional aspiration.
Q. Would I be at a disadvantage when applying for a job compared to people with a major in that particular discipline (for example, applying for a social worker position at DSHS, when other applicants have degrees in social work)?
A. It depends on the individual employer. By their own admission, many employers are actively seeking and prefer to hire applicants with interdisciplinary (AKA, liberal arts) education, because such degree programs typically provide students with a broad knowledge base and a number of basic skills, which are valuable in any profession (see Student Learning Outcomes above). If you want to increase your chances of being fully competitive in a given profession, you may choose to couple your IDS major with a minor in that area, e.g., social services (see question regarding minors below).
Q. How do I select which courses to take?
A. This is probably the most important decision when it comes to getting the most out of this degree. As such, it typically consists of three steps:
Step 1. As the first step in designing their program of study, students are encouraged to determine how they are going to utilize this degree, as specifically as possible. For example, are you going to go to graduate school? If so, which program (MBA, Med, MSW, etc.) and where. Are you going to apply for a new job? In which field, at which agency, etc.? Are you going to apply for a promotion at a current job?
Step 2. Once this determination is made, the next step is to figure out which areas of knowledge you would need to gain/expand or which skills you would need to acquire in order to be successful in this new job, in this graduate program, etc. The means of obtaining such information include interviewing potential employers, interviewing a person currently doing the job which you would like to get, interviewing an advisor/director of admissions of the graduate program, etc.
Step 3. Now that you have a list of knowledge, skills, and abilities which you would like to develop in the process of obtaining this degree, peruse the CWU catalog and, from the course descriptions, determine which courses would best assist you in this endeavor.
Please keep in mind that designing an individualized program of study is one of the main components of the IDS 289 course, during which your academic advisor would guide you through this process.
Q. How do I decide whether to select the large (62-credit) major or the small (47-credit) major coupled with a traditional minor? What is a “traditional” minor?
A. A traditional minor is any minor offered through CWU, ranging from aerospace studies to theatre arts. Any such minor can be coupled with the small IDS major. The decision on whether to choose this option is typically driven by the way a student is going to utilize their degree. Coupling a small IDS major with a minor allows one to have an area of specialization. So, if you believe that such specialization would provide you with an advantage when applying this degree, then it is a good idea to minor in that area. For example, a student who is going to seek admission to a graduate program in psychology would benefit from a minor in psychology; a student who aspired to run their own business would benefit from a minor in business administration.
Q. Would I be at a disadvantage, as opposed to the students majoring in that discipline, when attempting to enroll in a given course (e.g., in terms of prerequisites, background knowledge, etc.)?
A. You may run into challenges while enrolling in some courses if you are either not a major in that discipline (e.g., law and justice) or you lack prerequisites (e.g., PSY 101). These challenges are typically easily resolved by working directly with the instructor for the course, who would be able to give you permission to enroll in their course.
Q. Is this degree easier than a traditional major?
A. Most students would say that this degree is more challenging to obtain than a traditional major because of having to take courses from several different disciplines together with students who are majoring in those disciplines and are, therefore, better equipped with pertinent concepts, principles, and terminology. However, if you like to be challenged at every step in your education and you like to gain a broad knowledge base, this would be a fitting degree for you.
Q. Would I have access to someone to help guide me through the process of obtaining this degree, since it seems like there are so many choices here, that a wrong turn is quite possible?
A. Yes. You will have an academic advisor who you will meet during the IDS 289 course and they would be available to guide you for the rest of your tenure in this major.
Des Moines, Pierce:
Cynthia Engel, Program Director
Des Moines (509) 963-3813 Pierce (253) 964-6704
Lynnwood, Everett:
Trieu Doan, Program Director
509-963-3888
Ellensburg, Yakima, Wenatchee, Moses Lake:
Alena Yastchenko, Program Director
(509) 963-3706
Online Program
Nicole Dunn, Program Director
(509) 859-6874
Q. My questions were not answered in this document; what do I do now?
A. For any additional questions, please contact Alena Yastchenko at , Dunn at , Trieu Doan at or Cynthia Engel at , depending on your location of study.
For additional program information, please contact Alena Yastchenko, IDS Academic Coordinator, at 509-963-3706 or via email .
Effective Fall 2016