About Interdisciplinary Studies

Points of Pride

A Tradition of Excellence and Innovation: For over half a century, IDS has been offering students the opportunity to work in collaboration with their academic advisors to discover effective ways of combining varieties of academic interests into individually tailored, coherent programs of study. The major - first known as the Social Science Divisional Major, later as the Multidisciplinary Program (MDP), and since 1992 as IDS - has been available at MSU since 1944. IDS celebrated its Diamond Anniversary, recognizing 60 years of distinguished service to MSU undergraduate education, in 2004-05.

A Popular Major: IDS is one of the largest interdisciplinary undergraduate degree programs in the country. At present, it has over 950 students enrolled.

The Topical/Thematic Focus: IDS is unique. It differs from many interdisciplinary/ interdepartmental degree programs in that it offers students the opportunity to select a specific topical or thematic focus (e.g., Health Studies, International Studies). In the course of their studies, students gain both a strong, liberal arts foundation and in-depth knowledge in the selected topical/thematic area.

IDS offers a wide range of options. Each student selects and completes the requirements of one of the following eight interdisciplinary concentrations.

• Community Relations
• Environmental Policy
• Health Studies
• Human Aging
• Human Resources and Society
• International Studies
• Law and Society (Pre-law)
• Public Policy Studies

Student Accomplishments: Over the years, IDS students have received a large number of prestigious academic awards and citations. Two graduates have won Mellon Fellowships for graduate study, the first recipients of this award in the history of Michigan State University. During the past five-year period, IDS students have received seven (7) College of Social Science Undergraduate Distinguished Scholarships, two (2) Morris K. Udall Scholarships (for students pursuing careers in environmental public policy or Native American/Alaskan Native health care or tribal public policy) in a nationwide competition, and three (3) Richard Lee Featherstone Endowed Prizes, awarded each year to outstanding graduating seniors at MSU who possess an unusually well articulated combination of academic interests, along with a record of service that reflects those interests. In addition, two other IDS students were selected as finalists in the Featherstone competition.

Alumni/Alumnae Accomplishments: IDS alumni/alumnae pursue a wide range of career interests. Many are seen to have an exploratory and/or entrepreneurial spirit as far as their pursuit of careers and personal and professional development. IDS graduates are "out there" exploring new frontiers in a variety of interrelated and overlapping fields. Alumni of the major now number in the tens of thousands and include a U.S. Senator, a former governor of the State of Michigan and ambassador to Canada, a leader in the U.S. civil rights movement, the former U.S. ambassador to Brazil, a past president of the MSU Board of Trustees, three university presidents, the former Vice President of the Corporate Trust Department of one of America's largest banks, a professional photographer who has been in the forefront of developments in computer imaging, a large number of men and women who have served the public in various capacities at the local, State, and national levels, and corporate and community leaders across the country and around the world.

The Business Emphasis: IDS offers a unique opportunity for students to elect and complete a Business Emphasis. The latter is composed of a group of courses offered in the Eli Broad College of Business, as well as economics courses offered in the College of Social Science. The Business Emphasis can be a valuable complement to the student's interdisciplinary program of study. Many employers in the public and private sectors and many graduate programs in public policy, law, or business are especially interested in students who have included a significant portion of business-oriented course work in their undergraduate degree programs. As of March 1, 2005, IDS had one hundred seventy (170) students enrolled in the emphasis.

Emphasis on Out-of-Classroom Learning Experiences: IDS has launched an initiative to try to encourage virtually every student in the major to engage in at least one out-of-classroom learning experience (e.g., internship, field study, study-internship program, Study Abroad experience, community research project, or Service-Learning assignment). As of Spring Semester 2003, we estimated that 58% of IDS graduating seniors had embarked upon and completed at least one such assignment.

Number of Students Enrolled in the Honors College: As of March 1, 2005, the unit had a total of fifty-six (56) students who were also enrolled in the MSU Honors College.

Number of Medical Scholars: The IDS major includes a significant number of MSU Medical Scholars (usually 2-4 at any point in time). These students are enrolled in the IDS: Health Studies concentration. (The Medical Scholar program in the College of Human Medicine (CHM) admits only ten freshmen to the program each year. Those selected are guaranteed admission to CHM after successful completion of their undergraduate degrees).

Teacher Certification Candidates: The IDS major is designated as a major in which students may pursue teacher certification (elementary, middle/junior high, and secondary school levels). Students are required to complete specified course work in four academic disciplines - economics, geography, history, and political science. At present, a total of seventy-four (74) IDS students are pursuing course work that would lead to candidacy for teacher certification.

The IDS major provides an excellent background for teacher education, since it places emphasis upon a broad academic background in interdisciplinary/interdepartmental "social studies."

Alumni/Alumnae Pursuing Graduate-Professional Schools: In recent years, a large number of IDS alumni have pursued graduate-professional programs of study. These include schools of - law, medicine, public health, social work, human resources/labor relations, health care administration, public policy, public administration, urban planning, business, and environmental policy. Graduates in the past few years have attended a wide range of colleges and universities, including many major research institutions (e.g., Michigan State University, University of Wisconsin, Indiana University, Harvard University, The London School of Economics, The Ohio State University, University of Michigan, Boston University, Wayne State University, Oakland University, Western Michigan University, University of Limburg - The Netherlands, and so on).

Academic Advising: The IDS program continues to place strong emphasis upon the quality of its academic advising. IDS advisors assist students in developing imaginative and intellectually stimulating programs of study. IDS advisors have in-depth knowledge and understanding of courses and course content in the various departments/schools within the College of Social Science and elsewhere in the university.