More Americans are working abroad than ever before, perhaps because of the limited American job market or the allure of new experiences.
An estimated 6.3 million Americans live abroad, according to the U.S. State Department. As of November 2012, 40 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds are interested in living in another country – up 28 percent over 2007.
In this spirit, our university should make an active effort to promote majors that reflect these global changes.
UCLA interdepartmental programs allow students to take courses across many departments while focusing on a specific geographic area or global trend.
As I progress through the global studies major, the real value of the program has begun to unfold. The global studies major, like a variety of other interdepartmental programs at UCLA, prepares students for jobs that combine or require an understanding of economics, politics, society and culture.
In my experience, the global studies major has so far been able to successfully interconnect many disciplines, largely because of the cohesive structure of its core classes. Taught by one professor, these courses build on each other and envelop all three global studies pillars: “Culture and Society,” “Markets” and “Governance and Conflict.”
The global studies major is going through a transitional year, and the leadership is largely new. But although the global studies major and other interdepartmental programs may be undergoing many changes, core courses for these programs should be set up in a manner that not only gives students a solid basis for studying their specific pillar but also gives them the tools to navigate among seemingly, though not truly, separate disciplines.
This year should prove an opportunity for global studies professors and administrators alike to enhance a true “interdiscipline.”
The current model for the global studies major, in which one professor teaches all three core classes, is not sustainable, said Michael Thies, the chairman of the global studies interdepartmental program and a political science associate professor. An entire program cannot rely on one professor, who could fall ill or leave the university.
Instead, the program is looking to hire three professors to teach the core classes within their specific areas of expertise, also ensuring that they still make the connections inherent in studying globalization, Thies said.
At a glance, this trade-off between depth and breadth seems to be built
into the nature of interdepartmental programs – core classes can either synthesize a lot of material or hone in on a professor’s specialty.
Without a framework for navigation, interdepartmental programs may become disjointed – a mishmash of various and seemingly related classes under an umbrella topic.
Even if certain professors seem to sit on one departmental track, this trade-off could be minimized if they made an effort to examine links and relationships between disciplines. Economists, for example, would benefit from delving into some level of social, cultural or even psychological study in their courses. Similarly, political scientists cannot ignore the effects of culture and markets on the governmental sphere.
“Many of (these) disciplines are so interrelated that we are all basically studying the same things,” Thies said.
College graduates are entering an increasingly globalized workforce. Stratified academic departments do not necessarily provide all the knowledge needed to work in international nongovernmental organizations, international political organizations or programs like Doctors Without Borders.
The global studies major is an ideal major for someone that wants to keep their career options wide-open, said Natasha Waltz, a second-year global studies student. Waltz said it could lead a student to anything from nonprofit work to a government job or a career in education.
The value of interdisciplinary programs, as I’ve found with the global studies major, lies in their promotion of connection-making – students learn to explore and master the interactions between academic sectors, better preparing themselves for postgraduation.
Students should learn to view world events, sectors or phenomena holistically, rather than through one academic lens.
Email Ferdman at mferdman@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to opinion@media.ucla.edu or tweet us @DBOpinion.