Why Are More Students Opting For Interdisciplinary Studies

Today more and more students are opting for interdisciplinary studies and are approaching the subject with a different mind. Students want to learn more and experiment with the different subjects.

Since the dawn of civilisation, life has always been a learning experience. In the bygone era knowledge was all about passing on of information from one generation to the other in the form of oral literature. Over time, this took the shape of written text. In the Indian scenario, when manuscripts came into the picture, the next major thing that accompanied it was the gurukul system, wherein students would go to the abode of their teacher or guru and say there and learn. The learning would continue till the teacher deemed the student knowledgeable enough to leave the place. Over time, this system gave way to that of conventional education wherein people would go to colleges and universities to pursue the education of their choice.

 

Post independence, a number of open universities also came into the picture. As the education system evolved (particularly that at the higher education level), so did the minds of the people. Over time, people started opting for interdisciplinary courses.

Pursuing Interdisciplinary Studies

As of 2018, there are hundreds of interdisciplinary courses available in a variety of combinations that students can opt for. The benefits of the same are enormous. This article speaks of some of those benefits and the reasons why more and more students are opting for such courses.

• Reaching Out To A Wider Public

Writer who can think like an engineer are more likely to get their work read by engineers. Similarly engineers who can write and document well are more likely to get their work appreciated by others. The same can be said in the case of an economist and a philosopher or in disciplines combining science and social science.

While pursuing higher education, it is important to realise that every field has its own lens through which the world is perceived. By being able to don multiple lenses you will be able to get a better perspective of the world and its problems. This will enable you to use the knowledge of your field of study to solve these problems better.

Also, by pursuing an interdisciplinary course and having extensive knowledge, you will be able to ensure that your work reaches out to a larger audience. Feedback coming up from this audience will help you make your work picture-perfect.

• Takes Away The Boredom

Let us face it. Irrespective of how much you love your subject, if that is the only thing you read about day in and day out, you will eventually get bored of it. You are definitely not to be blamed for this, as this is nothing but human nature.

In such a situation, the best thing that you can do is to opt for an interdisciplinary course. By studying two or more things that are completely uncorrelated, you will be able to hold your interest in the subject matter. This will ensure that you fare well in your profession and end up outshining your competitors.

• Confront Questions That May Otherwise Not Appear To You

Let us assume the hypothetical situation wherein you are a social activist who has studied computer science in college. Now, as an adult, when you come to the job market, you will find things like unethical hacking and phishing bothering you.

As a social activist, you will make efforts on your part to ensure that you do things at your end in order to tackle such cyber menaces. Note that if you did not have a background in computer science, things like this would not have bothered you and you would not have felt the urge to find solutions to these problems.

Thus, by having a degree in a field that is completely different compared to your own, you will come up with new and innovative questions. You can then use your knowledge (in the field that you specialise in) and apply the same to arrive at answers to those questions.

• Better Job Scope

Let us imagine a situation wherein an IT firm is looking for people with a LLB degree to fill the position of a legal advisor. Two candidates with equal merit and calibre enter the office. One of them is an arts graduate who has done their LLB (H) post their graduation. The other is someone who has done their LLB (H) following their BCA.

The student with a background in computers in order to the legal degree that is expected will be preferred over the other candidate. This is not about partiality but rather it is about practical utility. It is obvious that employers are more likely to enjoy working with a legal professional who has knowledge in the field of expertise of their client.

Thus, if you want to increase your chances of bagging a job, our advice to you would be to opt for interdisciplinary courses. Taking up interdisciplinary courses is important considering the fact that competition in the country is increasing by the minute.

• Synthesis Of Ideas

Traditional learning mechanism is such that knowledge has been clustered into disciplines. However, the fact remains that in the process of such clustering, there is some void between the branches. Since these spaces are completely untouched, needless to say, they have an immense potential for research.

This type of research can be taken up by students from an interdisciplinary background and they can make a name for themselves there. These types of students are able to consolidate ideas better as their personal ideologies stem from that of varied disciplines.

The contrast in the things that the students read about enable them to improve their logical and critical thinking skills and in turn pave the way for them to become better academicians and consequently, better professionals.

For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

--Or--
Select a Field of Study
Select a Course
Select UPSC Exam
Select IBPS Exam
Select Entrance Exam
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X