Understanding Interdisciplinarity

So on to the one word at the center of our major: Interdisciplinarity. Merriam Webster defines it as "involving two academic, scientific, or artistic disciplines". But we can do better than that. One thing we agree on is that integration is at the heart of the concept.

Here's how we view integration and how we're doing it:

KAITLYN- I would say integration is learning that things are never just black or white. The gray area is everything. For the longest time I found myself caught up with my own debate: Are we dominated by thought, or feeling? Is it logic, rationality, form and structure? Is the universe ordered, and thereby quantitfiable? Or is our ability to feel what makes us human? Emotions, intuition, symbolism--is that where its at? Is the universe chaotic, and its our job to use our subjectivities to make sense of it? Yes, this is what I ended up writing every lit paper about. And you know what my assertion always was? Although these things represent polarities, the two opposing concepts can and must be true at the same time. And that's integration.

I feel like I've spent my whole college career trying to be integrative. Hey, it's not like you can just get a degree in say, Sociology, and count on browsing the job listings for "Sociologist". You have to integrate! On the first day of the Fall 2008 semester, I sat in my Statistical Computing class and overheard all the Computer Science kids talking. And you know what I thought? "Hey, no one does Statistics by hand anymore, I'm gonna need to know how to program!" The next day, I was minoring in Computer Science and walking into four new, very interesting classes what would broaden my scope as a hopeful Statistician. Although, I WOULD recommend taking moderate steps, and not overdoing it like I always do. That semester, sometimes I didn't walk away from my computer screen for what I swear was four days straight!

Has anything like this ever happened to you guys? Have you ever rethought a minor or focus area based on what you're learning in one of your other concentrations?


RYAN--

If I had to come up with a definition for integration I would say it the combination of two or more things. A good example of integration that I came up with is taking a fork and a spoon to come up with a spork. The spork is a combination of both which gives it both qualities into just one object.

In my minor I have definetly

integrated my classes by taking two similar classes in one semester so that it would be easier for me to understand them both at once rather then taking them a different times. Its very important to use integration as a professional because it forces you to use different materials and information and combine it all to get one answer.

So tell us your story. Do you have anything to add to our definitions of interdisciplinarity or integration? Give us an example of how you've used it in school, work, or other parts of your life.

E-Portfolio

Hi, this is Ryan, My E-Portfolio is a combination of many different assignments that I have completed over time in my Cornerstone class as well as everything that I use for it in my Capstone class. My E-Portfolio is very important to me because everything that is in it will eventually help me in the future and will allow me to make great use out of it. My E-portfolio that I put together shows the different areas that I am currently studying at UCF as well as the Minors that I have chose.

After I graduate from college with a degree in interdisciplinary studies I hope to use my E-Portfolio while looking for jobs or even looking back and some of the things that I have done. The audience that I will focus more on would probably be the Company or people that choose to hire me for my future job. I hope to share my E-Portfolio with others in the future and show the type of person I am and what I have accomplished over time at UCF.

If I had to choose a few things in which I wanted to stand out the most in my E-Portfolio it would probably be my resume. The resume that I had to put together in my cornerstone class has really helped me allot. I learned how to put a great resume together which I already did and I can now use that when looking for jobs in the future. I would like my portfolio to look very professional. I want to make sure that everything is up to date and in order. If anyone were to look at my E-Portfolio I would hope that they really enjoy reading it and see what I have accomplished.

I could probably use the feedback that I received from other students in my class as evidence. I have had allot of feedback for all of the work that I put together over the semester and it was all very positive.

Kaitlyn-

I think of the e-portfolio as a creative and novel way to present myself that reaches far beyond the unavoidably dull resume. If an employer is truly interested, they don't have to look further than their computer screen to learn about what kind of person you are and whether you might be a good fit for their company. Instead of qualifications, the emphasis is PERSONALITY. I have a page for my personal philosophy, and what I deem the most important contributing factors to my life. I have page illustrating some of my happiest moments--my travels and all of the incredible things I hope to see. I have a page with all the different volunteering I've done, and how they've helped open up my eyes to the world.

While mostly I consider my audience to be a potential employer, I would also like my e-portfolio to be a general personal showcase. I want it to be something I can show family members and friends, and something I can assemble as a proud collection of my accomplishments. I hope to continually update it as my professional and personal lives develop, and in many years, it will be quite a pleasing thing to look back on.

Introduction

Hi everyone my name is Ryan Kaye. I chose to go to UCF for a few different reasons when I first applied to college. The main reason why I chose to attend UCF was because it was pretty close to home but at the same time far enough in which I still feel like I am away from them in a college town. Another reason why I chose UCF was because I love Orlando. Orlando has always been one of my favorite places because of all of the fun things it has to offer. I chose the IDS major because I figured that instead of focusing on one specific area I can study three different areas. This major allows me to take many different classes and that is what I have always wanted. My short term goal is to Graduate from UCF this semester and start looking for a career job hopefully in the Hospitality or Marketing field. My long term goal is to be very successful in whatever I do and travel allot with my company. Overall I love UCF and I am glad that I chose a great school.

Hi! My name is Kaitlyn Ferreri. I'm an Aries vegetarian from Atlanta, and my absolute favorite thing to do is to travel. I just got back from a trip to Hong Kong and it was amazing!!! The reason I came to UCF is that it is the closest university to where my parents now live in Clearwater- well, except for USF, but that's a little TOO close, if you know what I mean. I chose IDS because I wanted to study Statistics, but I also wanted specific focuses, namely business. So I got my perfect mixture. As for my future career goals, I'm devoting all of my non-school time this semester towards finding job to start off with- hopefully as an assistant with economic consulting or some other form of business analysis. That’s me!