Imaginative. Individual. Bold and boundary-breaking. Just like you. Make your MMC experience all your own with self-designed academic programs, working closely with a team of faculty mentors. Bring your many interests together, develop in-demand skills, and focus on what invigorates your mind.
Why Interdisciplinary Studies at MMC?
MMC is a great setting for this self-designed major. The College offers courses in a wide range of disciplines, so you can mix and match ideas from distinct areas as you construct your program. With small classes and focused faculty attention, you will get the guidance you need to assemble a powerful, individualized academic experience. Interdisciplinary Studies at MMC is also flexible, allowing you to add and integrate a second major or a minor to your profile. With MMC’s creative, innovative, forward-thinking community supporting your diverse interests, you are free to cross traditional boundaries and combine approaches in new ways. In other words, it’s the perfect environment for the Interdisciplinary Studies major.
What You Will Learn
You will gain a thorough understanding of an issue, topic, or area of inquiry from multiple disciplinary perspectives.
You will acquire the skills and methods of multiple disciplines.
You will build the capacity for original, innovative independent work in close collaboration with faculty advisors.
You will be supported by a team of three full-time faculty members who will help you construct your programs, guide your progress, and advise on capstone projects.
Capstone Experience
You will engage in a capstone experience that can take the shape of a research project, a mixed-media presentation, or an integrated internship/academic exploration. The experience gives you a substantial body of work to carry with you to grad school or the job market.
Charting New Territory
You will chart out fascinating new territory that combines wide-ranging knowledge, a variety of disciplinary methods, and contemporary practical skills. Recent majors have devised programs that focus on accessible theater, Black bodies and dance, the arts and global consciousness, conservation in the Pacific, and historical costume design.
The two main focuses within my IDS major were Costume Design and Film. But in order to get the most out of both of these areas, I took courses that weren’t necessarily these exact topics but deepened my understanding of the larger ones. Courses like Costume History and Costume Construction provided me with vital lessons on how clothing was made. During my study abroad experience in Italy, I took a photography class that helped improve my visual skills that could be carried over into film. The ability to, in a sense, hone my craft by choosing a diverse, yet integral, list of courses makes the IDS program so unique and rewarding.
IDS allowed me to explore interests and passions through independent studies, internships, and coursework that both challenged me and led me to building the curriculum I was proud to graduate with. Through my Interdisciplinary Studies curriculum at MMC, I was able to cultivate knowledge and experience in both my areas of personal and professional interest, including social and digital media, advocacy, and intersectionality among marginalized communities. Exploring the areas of Gender and Sexuality Studies has greatly contributed to my position as a Communications Associate in the LGBTQ+ nonprofit world by exposing me to different perspectives, identities, and societal issues that I come across in my job every day.
My Interdisciplinary Studies major allowed me to explore my passion, sound design, from a number of different perspectives. From historical research of the Jazz era, to studying how music can affect the brain, an Interdisciplinary Studies Major pushed me to analyze everything we hear in the world, learn how to recreate it, and understand the impact it can have on people. It allowed me to learn from some of the most inspiring professors at Marymount and get hands-on experience at internships in the city.
I also loved the self-designed courses, which is the best aspect of the IDS major since this is one’s opportunity to learn outside of classroom walls and bring back experiences that will advance you in your college career and beyond. I created a couple of courses, one of which explored turtle conservation efforts in Costa Rica, where I traveled to work hands-on with turtle-nest relocation and data gathering. I also explored a course on Native Hawaiian plants and how the use of GMO’s in the Hawaiian Islands is in contradiction with local cultural beliefs. I have to say that experiencing the issues is very different than reading about it in a book – I believe it is of greater impact, and meeting people related to the topics you are studying is also very beneficial and helps you to grow as a person.
You will gather broad experience, methods, and skills that you will use tofocuson a very specific problem or career path. You will bring together ideas and approaches from different and sometimes unexpected places. You will think outside existing structures, which signals motivation, innovative thinking, and self-sufficiency. This approach is precisely what is needed to tackle big challenges—and it is the professional profile that employers and grad schools are looking for.
job titles
Attorney
Business Manager
Creative Producer
Curatorial Coordinator
Digital Content Producer
Digital Media and Communications Manager
Marketing Coordinator
Web Developer
Yoga and Wellness Instructor
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