The Interdisciplinary Studies program at the University of North Georgia gives you the opportunity to personalize your plan of study and build diverse knowledge across multiple disciplines.
By combining two or three concentrations, IDST students can tailor their studies to match their passions and career goals without taking prescribed courses that may not align with their interests or future plans, according to Dr. Missy Hernandez, director of interdisciplinary studies and assistant professor of kinesiology. She explains that the program’s “design your own degree” structure encourages students to develop a broad set of skills that prepares them for graduate school, professional roles and leadership opportunities across industries.
“There’s nothing you can’t do with an IDST degree,” Hernandez said.
The flexibility Hernandez describes is what freshman IDST major, Hannah Harper, said drew her to the program.
“I love the freedom and possibilities that come with interdisciplinary studies.” –Hannah Harper, IDST major
While there are certain career paths that require a specific degree or certification, Hernandez said she recommends exploring the unique path of IDST. She adds that IDST students typically graduate with high GPAs due to their significant interest in each course they take because they picked the classes themselves. “We have students in the medical field, the Army, opening successful businesses, non-profits and taking on leadership roles,” Hernandez says.
Hernandez says IDST credits can be easier to transfer, cadets can use their military science credits to satisfy degree requirements as opposed to having to complete them in addition to degree requirements, there is more career in depth advising available and senior capstone is more personalized to career goals.
“We are on a mission to educate students that this degree is for everyone and will allow students to achieve or exceed their personal or professional goals,” Hernandez says. While there are students who do come to IDST because of poor performance in a prior major, she says they are not the majority.
Only six other majors graduated more students than IDST last spring, according to Hernandez. She also says that the IDST staff is passionate about the program and ready to discuss plan of study and career options with anyone who would like to learn more about designing their own degree path.
“I love that students have the flexibility to create their own adventure. The world is changing so fast and most jobs require a diverse set of skills…[IDST] is such a great program and I hear students say over and over again that they wish they would have known about IDST sooner,” Hernandez says.
