Multidisciplinary Studies in the US: What Does It Mean?

I'm interested in a lot of different subjects, and I've heard about multidisciplinary studies. Can someone explain how this works in the US college system and what kind of careers it may lead to?

Certainly, happy to clarify! Multidisciplinary Studies, often also called Interdisciplinary Studies, is an academic program that allows students to create a unique, customized plan of study. This type of program is designed for students like you who have a broad range of interests and do not wish to be confined to one or two specific areas of study.

You work closely with an adviser to design your curriculum, integrating from two to three, or sometimes more, different academic disciplines. For example, you could choose to combine courses in psychology, philosophy, and computer science if you're interested in artificial intelligence, or history, political science, and economics if you're interested in global policy development.

The objective is to prepare students to think critically, understand various methodologies, solve problems in innovative ways, and develop communication skills--all of which are highly regarded by employers and graduate programs.

As for careers, it often depends on the disciplines you choose to incorporate into your program, but it generally allows for a lot of flexibility. Graduates with a degree in multidisciplinary studies may do well in various fields including business, law, education, communications, or social services, to name a few. If you're interested in a specific career path, I would suggest mapping the disciplines you'd like to study to the skills required in that career.

Lastly, in terms of colleges, many schools across the U.S. offer multidisciplinary study programs. Some universities may have pre-designed tracks like Global Studies or Science, Technology & Society, while others may allow you to construct a completely individualized program. Be sure to check each school's specific program to understand the requirements.