Week 2 - Integration
Integration can be described as blending your two areas of study into one large cohesive unit. The idea is to find a way to creatively combine ideas and knowledge from each of your subject areas and to form a new whole. In our last blog, several students mentioned one disadvantage of an IDS degree is that employers don’t feel it is credible. IDS can appear to be unfocused unless you have integration. To combat this issue, it may be helpful if you are able to explain how you have integrated your fields of study into one cohesive unit.
My two subject areas are Behavioral & Social Sciences and Health and I have a minor in Aging Studies. When I returned to UCF after a five year hiatus, I knew that I wanted to study Gerontology (the study of aging). Since UCF does not offer an undergraduate degree in this field, I had the amazing opportunity of creating my own Aging degree. I chose to minor in Aging Studies and complement this with IDS concentrations in Behavioral & Social Sciences and Health. When I explain this degree to others, I like to explain my integration of areas by saying "I attempt to understand how our mental and physical health affects our aging process". You can see that I combined knowledge from each of my areas (Mental = Behavioral & Social Sciences, Physical = Health, Aging process = Aging Studies). It is important to have a goal in mind and use that when selecting your courses. There is so much flexibility with this degree, I think it would be very easy to just pick courses that you think may be "fun" or "easy" and never tie it all together. If you have a particular goal in mind, you can use the flexibility to choose courses that will be relevant to your future career. For example, some of my courses in the Health part of my degree have also been in the aging studies field. I chose courses such as Long Term Care & Administration and Health Care Needs of the Elderly since they not only meet the requirements for the Health portion, but also strengthen my goal of an Aging Studies degree and will hopefully be useful in my career.
Being able to connect or integrate your areas of study and minor are an essential part of being an interdisciplinarian. What does integration mean to you and what are some examples? Have you been able to integrate your areas and minor? If your areas don't tend to flow and you are finding integration challenging, what can you do to search for common ground between your areas of study? Why is integration of your subject areas and minor important in terms of professional, academic, and/or personal development?
Please leave your replies as a comment to this post. Don’t forget to include your full name in your post so that you receive credit. When responding to other students, you may find it helpful to begin your response with, “@their name” so that it is easy to see who you are directing your question/comment to. Be sure to check back throughout the week to see if other students have posted questions or replies for you!
Integration to me is connecting two or more things to work together as one. For example, our degree paths. Another example, at work my restaurant uses a MICROS system. It integrates with the front desk Galaxy system so that both systems contain the same information about the guests.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky to be able to integrate my degree paths. After spending 3 years as a Biotechnology major, one day I rolled out of bed and decided that there was no way I could or would ever do animal testing. So, I transferred to IDS because I really wanted to work with statistics and public health. I integrated Life/Biomedical Science and Health together to create my ideal path, where I will be able to go to a grad school for Public Health. Now, my minor….not so much. It’s in psychology. Definitely doesn’t integrate as well as I’d like….but it was mostly for fun! :)
Searching for common ground between the areas and minor exists within finding classes that go well together. For example, biology and chemistry. Research and Statistics. There are so many resources available to see what correlates to what, and it’s a great asset when determining how to integrate areas and make everything flow. Also, an advisor can help. We ultimately decide what we want by looking towards the future. With an idea in mind, we can make our degree work.
Integration is important because it all goes together like a puzzle.
The areas of concentration and the minor should technically match (not so much on my case) because it is just another way of showing dedication and having more specialized courses in your area of study. Correlating all the classes is essential to success and helps when graduation day has passed and we’re out there in the real world. Personal development is especially important-when we learn how to integrate our classes and education, we are on the right path to making right decisions for our lives. It’s a good start.
-Jessica Starr
Integration to me means to connect two areas and from it be able to work more efficiently. Like for example the class social psychology, it integrates society and the psychological aspect of how and why society interacts the way it does.
ReplyDeleteI have been able to integrate one of my majors which would be biomedical science and my minor which is health science, my other major is social services, so that does not really correlate to my science areas. I am a guy that likes science, so im glad that i got to connect two of these majors and minor i choose together.
I think that if your areas don't flow together, then taking classes that might have some sort of correlation might be a solution, since sometimes the classes that we take for our majors relate with each other without us even knowing when we choose the classes.Also, another big help would be your counselor, i know for a fact that mine has been extremely helpful and as a matter of fact the most helpful person i encountered with actually good advice about what things to choose and which path to take to have a more successful outcome.
Integration of our majors/minor is important because it allows for an easier transtition into the real working world.If you have majors that correlate with each other and your minor as well relates to your major, then you are going to have knowledge from 3 different areas but with similar backgrounds, therefore making you a strong candidate when applying for jobs. Integration in our personal develepment is important as well because it allows us to grow as a person and to realize that there are different areas out there that we can somehow connect together and make it even that much greater, and even in decision making, sometimes you have to take advice from your family and your own judgement and integrate it, making it the best choice out there for you.
-Benjamin Rivera
Integration means sewing together the three unique threads of my interdisciplinary education. I choose my three areas of study (Biomedical Sciences, Physical Sciences, and English Literature) with a goal in mind, the goal to get in to medical school. By combining these three areas, my pre-requisites for professional school are met and my interests are peaked.
ReplyDeleteMy areas don't typically flow together but with the aforementioned goal in mind, they flow well. I think the English Lit minor fuels my diverse interests and helps to maintain my writing ability, which is necessary for life skills and the MCAT.
Integration of my subject areas is important: professionally/academically, because I need to appeal to colleges' application review board with a non-typical degree; and personally, for the sake of sanity I must have some cohesion to my education, with a goal in mind.
- ERIN CHANDLER
I believe that integration is components coming together to create something directed to be supreme. An example would be a smartphone, its integrations of being able to check email, compose documents, store and play music, play videogames, take pictures, take videos, surf the web and most importantly make phone calls. All of those integrations of technology come together to make a supreme device that can provide entertainment and complete certain tasks all in the palm of a hand. Another example that may be a childish one, but none the least it is still an example, is superman. Powers such as super speed integrated from the flash, super strength from the hulk, flight, super hearing, heat and x-ray vision, which no one has, and lung capacity strong enough to blow heavy winds. Integration is important to me because I feel the more areas I am useful in the more people I am able to help similar to a renaissance man, which is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas.
ReplyDelete-Jeremy Amin
In the Merriam-Webster dictionary the word integrate is defined by the act or process or an instance of integrating. I believe that integration is placing two or more things together to come to become one whole component. Some examples of integration are using technology in the classroom to make learning more efficient, or even using our gmail accounts to log onto this blog site, that is a prime example of integration. My two areas are Life/Biomedical Sciences and Physical Sciences and my minor is Health Sciences. I have been able to integrate all three because they each have classes that will help me to achieve my goal of getting into medical school and becoming a doctor. Integration of my subject areas and minor are important for professional development because as a medical student I will use the things I’ve learned in each of the courses from each area to become a better doctor. In my academic career integration of my studies will help me to become a better student by challenging myself to focus on three different areas throughout my career. Personal development through my studies will help me to become a greater interdisciplinarian as I grow from a student into a professional.
ReplyDelete-Leslie-Ann Ellington
Wow, you all have a great grasp on how to integrate your areas and the importance of it! I struggled with this a little bit as I was deciding on an IDS degree, but it doesn't sound like you guys have had any problems.
ReplyDelete@Jessica,
I think a grad degree in Public Health would be a very interesting field. How do you see yourself using that degree? I have a good friend who is interning with her county health department up in the panhandle and she loves it!
@Benjamin,
I'm glad you found a counselor who was really able to help guide you. I am a fully online student and have worked on most of my degree while living outside the Orlando area. I think I was at a little bit of a disadvantage by missing out on that important interaction. You're right about some classes fitting together without you realizing it at first! That definitely happened with a few of my classes and I felt the overlapping information really helped strengthen my understanding of certain material.
@Erin,
Wow! I never would have thought to use English Lit as one of my subject areas if I had been you. But after reading your explanation, I can certainly see how that subject area could be extremely beneficial when applying to medical school. It sounds like you have a great, well thought out path in mind - good luck!
@Jeremy,
haha I like your smart phone example! I never thought of integration that way before. IDS is kinda like a smart phone - knowledge or skills in different areas combined into one device. I like it :-)
Integration for means the meshing of subjects or materials leading to a whole unit in the end. Breaking down a complex thing to much simpler stuff to be studied or examined at each level then brought back together. Thats how IDS is you create a degree with small building blocks that contribute to you Degree. My two main areas are Biomedical Sciences, Physical Sciences, and a Minor in Business. I chose IDS becuse it has allowed me to take the pre-med sciences necessary for medical school. My minor in business will later help me when i try to open my own private clinic, or even a hospital if all goes well. For my part my 3 areas of studying does go hand in had in my personal view.
ReplyDelete@Erin
ReplyDeleteNice i totally agree with you that your English minor will beneficial when taking the MCAT. Quck question i am also planning to attend medical school which pre-med sciences have you completed so far i have only began mine
Reposted for Ryan Burris
ReplyDeleteIntegration is putting the areas of study that you are most interested in as a career and building your own custom Degree. As I mentioned in my introduction to the blog I have an IDS Degree which consists of a minor in Biology and have almost as many classes to minor in Communications as well. This integration gives me a distinct advantage over other job seekers and when I write my resume I state that I have a minor in Biology. In Healthcare sales, especially in medical devices the typical candidate will have a business management degree. By having a background in Bilogy I have a better understanding of the physiological processes involved with waht I do and can speak to physicians more intelligently.
Intergarting you interests together and creating a degree that is custom to what you do will not only make you happier but will say to perspective employers that you will be a perfect fit for the position you will be assuming.
@Ryan Burris
ReplyDeleteI agree with you regarding the fact that you knowing the physiological process of a medicine in the body, will definitely give you an advantage than a person with a business management degree. And integrating your interests together not only does it make the classes fun or more interesting but you actually learn from it, and can apply it in the working world.
@Edison Tenezaca
ReplyDeleteI really liked your definition for integration, and i completely agree with you about the whole IDS degree, and how it is made up. It is like building blocks and from it you get to learn from two areas that go well with each other.
@Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI want to work for the CDC. I think it would be super exciting and I have an odd love for statistics.
@Erin,
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think your areas of study integrate well as pre-reqs for medical school. The English Lit minor especially is interesting when you mention the MCAT. I love how you’re integrating the MCAT and a minor!
-Jessica Starr
@Edison,
ReplyDeleteI like the Business Minor. I think it would have been a good option for me. You mention opening a private clinic, to start, with it, what a great idea. Your two areas and your minor integrate will together!
-Jessica Starr
@Erin, I agree with the fact that you said although your areas don't all flow together, they have to integrate in order to appeal to the medical school boards. I plan on applying to medical school as well! Good luck with admissions!
ReplyDelete@Benjamin, you are right when you said that the integration of our majors/minor is important because it allows for an easier transtition into the real working world. I agree because without integration we would be aimlessly studying different areas without ever integrating them.
-Leslie-Ann Ellington
@Edison
ReplyDeleteI have completed: biology, chemistry 1&2, physics 1, microbiology, physiology, organic chemistry 1
I'm taking: organic chemistry 2 with lab, anatomy
Elective suggestions: physiological psychology - interesting and simple class.
Do you have any elective suggestions?
@ Ryan Burris
ReplyDeleteI think its a great idea to integrate biology with business for your goal of healthcare sales. It will be so helpful for your customers that you have a basic physiological understanding!
@ Edison
Good Idea! Integrating business with pr-med program will be very useful later in life when starting a private practice. I haven't thought about how I'm going to manage that yet, haha. Have you taken any of the health care administrative courses? If not, that might be something you'd be interested at looking into.
@ Erin
ReplyDeleteWow your almost done with the pre-med courses nice another question if you dont mind which professors you recommend for the premeds?
I have spoken to my counselor and she gave some suggestions such as Genetics, Embryology, Physiology,Histology, Medical Terminology, Biochemistry,Anatomy and Microbiology as you mentioned. About Bio-chem their are some med schools that will take that in high consideration one of them is NOVASEU for ostephatic medicine and Lake Erie at Brandonton, i will ask my counselor because it wouldnt hurt taking some medschool sciences as an undergrad it will only help you later on.
@Erin
Yes the busines minor is helpful kinda of like a fall back for sometime until i wait for admission to a good med-school. How ever later on it will be applied when i try to open my private practice. I have not taken any Health care administration but i will consider looking at it as some elective courses
@Edison
ReplyDeleteYea, I'm almost done with pre-reqs for med school. WooHoo! I've got to take BioChem and Physics 2, and maybe genetics.
Organic Chemistry is a VERY difficult course. Dr. Elsheimer is probably the best teacher, where you learn the most. Although he is more difficult than Dr. Doudi.
Try to get someone other than Dr. White for microbio. Lab is alot of fun =]
physiology with Dr. Flory is a good class. LOTS of information!
Integration to me means putting my three minors together and trying to come up with one main objective as to what I’m studying. However, this is a problem that I still haven’t figured out. I’m minoring in Health Science, Education and Hospitality and with that I still don’t know what I want to do. I’ve given some thought to being a Health teacher but I don’t really think that is something that I would want to do. Education and Health Science do relate a little bit more with potential of having some what of integration involved but I just haven’t figured it out yet. It’s something that I hope to figure out by the end of this class.
ReplyDelete-Megan Sebastian
@Jamin,
ReplyDeleteThat is a good example about the smart phones, you are totally right! It is crazy how much technology has advanced! I read an article not to long ago about what babies born in 2011 will never know and my mind was blown!
@Edison,
I think that is really cool how you are doing the medical field with hopes of opening up a clinic or hospital!! That was once a part of my dream but it ended up being way too much school for me and I don’t think I have the brains for it. Good for you though, I hope everything goes as planned!
-Megan Sebastian
I can really identfy with your process on how you integrated your aging studies into your career path. I had a very similar situation where I left school for almost 8 years and worked in sales, a firemen, a business owner etc. and came back full circle to my roots in health care from 8 years prior. I was working in downtown orlando's level 1 Emergency Department while working on my Biology degree on track to be a doctor and ended my degree just 2 semesters away from the end.The allure of fast and easy money really distracted me from the end and since I have been doing sales soo long now I applied my sales background ( communications) with my medical experience ( biology) and came across the perfect degree to propel me in my current career in Medical Device Sales.
ReplyDeleteFor me, integration is taking the knowledge
ReplyDeletethat you've gained and using it to advance in a career in which you love, or to improve upon your personal capabilities. For me, this has been easy. My areas are the physical and biological sciences(pre-med), with a minor in psychology. I integrate these studies in the current job that I have as a doctor's secretary. I mainly utilize my knowledge in science, but I enjoy analyzing the personalities that I work with. Its a very beneficial job, because I'm experiencing what life will be like, as far as scheduling goes when I finally do become a doctor. I honestly
am not sure if I will be utilizing my psych degree practically in my career, for example to become a psychiatrist, or a neurospychologist. However, I do incorporate it into my everyday life, particularly with my interpersonal skills. I am also a great writer, as a result of
numerous papers I've had to write in the past. I think this is a very valuable skill, in the age of research. I hope that in my time off/traveling I can work more with this skill, maybe as a journalist on health-care or something. Fortunately psychology is pervasive throughout everyday life, so whatever career I pick this knowledge will always be relevant. For me one of the most important IDS attributes a person can have is self-security,
and my education in psychology has really strengthened that.
~Andrea Graves
@ Ryan Burris
ReplyDeleteI like your story. Its the perfect example of how everything happens for a reason. It's good to see that you found the silver lining, instead of seeing it as a setback.
@ Edison I like your career plan. I admire people that know exactly what they want out of life. Good luck with your health institution!
ReplyDeleteI best define integration as two or more separate ideas, thoughts, individuals or objects so thoroughly combined they are no longer distinguishable as a singular idea, thought, individual or object. An example of integration would be the modern cell phone. No longer is it ust a device to use away from home to make emergency phone calls. The cell phone is now a phone, pager, laptop, television, camera and radio all rolled into a single device. My two areas of study are humanities and computational sciences. I am minoring in Health Services Administration. Our era is one of technology; this extends to our medical care. Most medical offices have an electronic medical record system enabling their office to be a paperless or near paperless environment. In order to obtain a career in a managerial position within a healthcare facility the need for computer knowledge and application is key. Combining this with my educational emphasis on humanities I believe will enable me to have a leg up on the competition. Humanities are all encompassing for the many classes I have taken in literature, sociology, psychology, history and philosophy. All of what I have learned through the humanities courses will help me to become a more eloquent speaker, comprehensible writer and compassionate individual. Humanities, computational sciences and health services administration will enable me to one day become a manager of a medical office, clinic, surgery center or in hospital administration.
ReplyDelete-Shannon Brown
@ Jamin
ReplyDeleteI swear I did not read your post before I wrote mine. Look at my example of integration and yours. Great minds think alike.
-Shannon
@ Kelly
ReplyDeleteI hope for your sake you will be studying aging individuals not caring for them on a daily basis. The aging population is not your sweet Grandma & Grandpa of the past. This aging generation is feisty to put it nicely. You must have the patience of an angel.
-Shannon
@Shannon,
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't want to provide direct care to elders. I would much rather work with an organization that provides Information & Referral - I want to help connect elders and caregivers to the help they need. Kind of be that important middle link, definitely not the caregiver!
Kelly J.
Integration to me means taking different avenues of study and focuses and bringing them together for one main objective. My two disciplines are Commerce and Health with Sociology minor. I want to combine Sociology with my studies in health to help decide what area I was to focus on in health. Sociology is the study of society. I would love to work at pediatric clinic to help those who do not have insurance of a normal family pratice, I feel it is one struggle with the world today. Commerce will help with my now career in Property Management and help me improve on my business and people skills.
ReplyDeleteBy taking these two different majors with a minor that would help on either path, I can decide where I want my professional life to take me. There is such a huge umbrella of areas in Health and by learning the Sociological side and the business side, I learn all avenues.
@ Meghan S.
ReplyDelete-I think your 3 minor choices are great! Everyday is a teaching day or leaning day in the Health career world. And of course you are always dealing with Hospitality. Have you ever thought about working in Dietary Nutrition. You can help many people become healthier and live longer. Good luck!
@ Erin C.
ReplyDeleteYou have a great goal in mind. Even though you say your areas of study are a little different it appeals to all areas professionally and personally. And it won't ever be repeatative. I hope I can have as much focus as you this year as well.
@Jamin I love the concept of being a rennaissance person! I use that quote all the time :)
ReplyDelete@ Shanna I think its great that you want to invest in under-represented populations. It is very imperative in today's society.
ReplyDelete