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Degree Title

Bachelor of Arts

Summer A 2024 Start Date:

May 6, 2024

Summer B 2024 Start Date:

June 17, 2024

Overview

The Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies is our most customizable bachelor's degree. Whether you're just starting your undergraduate degree, you've taken college courses elsewhere, or you're ready to transfer, this degree takes into account where you have been, what your interests and abilities are now, and how best to propel you forward into your wished-for career.

Take the next step.

This fully online degree program is designed to match your academic and entrepreneurial talent to new or emerging job categories, which will increasingly require those with unique, multi-dimensional skill sets. The degree draws upon courses within the College of Arts, Sciences & Education as well as other selected FIU schools and colleges. With its individualized focus, our program gives you the flexibility to design a degree that's specifically aligned with your career goals. To ensure that student interests, previous academic history, and career plans coincide, two dedicated courses are integrated into the degree requirements:

  • Capstone — taken during your final year, this course includes service-learning, internship or research project options to prepare for graduation and beyond.

The program's administrators, advisors, and staff will assist you in aligning your current situation with your future goals. Whether you are a new, transfer or returning student, this program can help guide you to a course of study that reflects your aspirations and individuality.

  • Why Apply?

    Your Future Career Can Be As Unique As You Are. 

    Prepare to engage the world through your unique knowledge and skill set, enhanced by an innovative, multidisciplinary curriculum. An Interdisciplinary Studies bachelor's degree provides students with a broad learning experience. The professional goals and dreams of interdisciplinary students are as unique as each student. Interdisciplinary studies will develop in each student the ability to:

    • Make meaningful and effective connections across disciplines
    • Identify and incorporate discussions of cultural, political, artistic and religious diversity
    • Critically analyze and evaluate alternative points of view
    • Demonstrate "real world" application of knowledge and skills via the Capstone course

    You will cap-off your education in your specialization by developing an investigative Capstone project that uses an interdisciplinary approach to understand an issue or problem related to your specialization. A well-written Capstone project, with its applied emphasis, can showcase to a prospective employer or graduate school your ability to work independently.


    Connect Confidently.

    Whether you choose to pursue a career or advanced studies, this fully online degree program allows you the freedom to forge your own course of study. For example, you may select courses in art, psychology, and education with the goal of becoming an art therapist. Or, you could choose an array of marine biology, earth and environment and writing courses to pursue a career as a staff writer for a public or private sustainability organization. The course-path options are many and varied, and the possibilities are virtually limitless. The program advisors and coaches draw upon the resources of FIU's Career Services and other career development professionals to identify emergent job categories that will require "out-of-the-box" interdisciplinary thinking and training. 

  • Courses

    Program Completion Requirements

    Since the Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies is a self-designed degree that brings together a multidisciplinary array of courses into a focused cohort, the curriculum below is expansive, with the area requirements funneling into the “Expertise Focus." The Capstone course help you build a coherent course trajectory from your entry into the major to your graduation and beyond.

    With assistance from Interdisciplinary Studies advisors, students build a concentration relevant to their future career or post-graduation educational goals. A total of 30 hours is required for the major. Three hours must meet the discipline-specific Global Learning requirement. Student must complete ten 3000- or 4000-level courses distributed in the areas below. All courses in the major must be completed with a grade of “C” or better.

    For students admitted into the Honors College, the degree requirements for both the Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies and Honors College upper-division curriculum may be satisfied by taking 12 credits of Interdisciplinary Honors (IDH) courses appropriate to the categories below. 

    An ample variety of courses will be offered each term to satisfy the category requirements below. Specific courses will vary from semester to semester; the Cornerstone entry course is dedicated to laying out a viable course roadmap, suiting your needs and aspirations, which will help the program administrators predict the need for particular courses in future cycles.

    Human Aspirations Around the World   (6 credits)
    Art, Art Education, Dance, English (literature, poetry, and film courses only), History, Humanities, Modern Languages, Linguistics, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Theatre.

    Defining Social Spheres   (6 credits)
    Accounting, Anthropology, Criminal Justice, Economics, Education, Geography, International Relations, Labor Studies, Management, Marketing, Political Science. Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Environmental Studies (social science courses only).

    Science and its Applications   (6 credits) (Note: labs are not required)
    Any upper division courses from the following disciplines: Biology, Chemistry, Earth & Environment, Engineering, Computer Science, Physics. Suggested courses (no pre-requisites) are: CHS 3501 Introduction to Forensic Science; GEO 3510 Earth Resources; GLY 3034 Natural Disasters; GLY 3039 Environmental Geology, OCE 3014 Oceanography; MET 4532 Hurricanes (Fall only),EVR 3101 Energy Flow in Natural and Man Made Systems (requires Algebra); EVR 3011 Environmental Resources and Pollution; EVR 3013 Ecology of South Florida.

    Expertise Focus: Theory or Applied   (9 credits)
    Three additional courses from the areas above, in consultation with a program advisor, to build upon subjectmatter expertise, or for Honors College students IDH 3034/4007.                      

    Capstone  IDS 4890  (3 credits)
    Devise a focused plan of study. Solidify degree focus and prepare for post-BA career or advanced degrees.

  • Requirements

    To ensure every student’s success, we have certain admissions requirements for each of our programs. To help you through the application process, our enrollment advisors are here to answer your questions and guide you every step of the way.



    FIU Admission Requirements

    Applications are accepted for Spring, Fall and Summer terms.


    Steps to Apply

    First Year Students

    Please submit the following:

    • Online application
    • $30 application fee.
    • Official SAT, ACT and/or CLT scores.
    • Official high school transcripts.

    Transfer Students

    Please submit the following:

    • Online application
    • $30 application fee.
    • Official college transcripts.
    • If you have less than 60 transferable college credits, you must also submit official high school transcripts and SAT, ACT and/or CLT scores in addition to any transcripts from postsecondary schools to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

     

    Returning Students

    Returning students must meet the current university and degree-specific requirements to be admitted. For more details, FIU has policies for students who left FIU .

       Please submit the following:

    • Online application
    • $30 application fee
    • Updated official transcripts

    International Students

    In addition to the above requirements, international applicants should submit:

    • Official English Language Proficiency exam scores (TOEFL or IELTS).
    • Official translations of any transcripts, if not in English.
    • If you have less than 60 transferrable college credits, you must also submit official high school transcripts with translation.

    Program Admission Requirements

    Common Prerequisites

    No specific courses required; all students transferring from Florida community colleges are encouraged to complete the Associate in Arts degree.


    Recommended Courses

    The degree program seeks, as suitable, to build upon a wide array of previously taken 3000 or 4000 level courses; many non College of Arts, Sciences & Education courses may be accepted. However, subsequently an Arts, Science & Education concentration is recommended. FIU native students can be accepted into the program before 60 hours.


    Admission Documents

    To complete the online undergraduate programs admissions form, select your program from the application form. You may complete the online application and submit it, even before taking any entrance exams. All supporting admission documents may be sent to:

    
Florida International University
    
Office of Undergraduate Admissions

    P.O. Box 659003

    Miami, FL 33265-9003

    USA



    FIU also accepts transcripts electronically via:

    • Faster (All FL public institutions)
    • Naviance (Typically used by private high schools)
    • SMART/Joint Service Transcript – Military records

    *Meeting the university minimum requirements does not guarantee admission

     

  • Tuition

    We’re thrilled that you’re considering online education and want you to know exactly what to expect for tuition and fees. Education is an investment in your future. Use the following student tuition and fees calculator to determine your costs.

  • Top Faculty

    Dr. Bruce Harvey
    Dr. Harvey is director of liberal studies and an associate professor of English. His research interests include pre-Civil War American literature and culture, as well as Post-Renaissance European intellectual and cultural history. He is also the Associate Director of the School of Environment, Arts and Society (SEAS), part of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education. SEAS unites socially and environmentally-oriented faculty in an effort to better understand and address the challenges that arise from the interaction between human and environmental systems. Through research, education, and an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas, SEAS strives to bring about positive and tangible changes to local, national and, international levels.  

    Dr. Grenville Draper
    Dr. Draper associate director of liberal studies and a professor of Earth and Environment. He is a geologist whose research focuses on the use of structural and metamorphic information to develop models for the tectonic evolution of the Caribbean. His research has included field studies in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Dr. Draper is Chair of the Standing Committee of the Caribbean Geological Conference series and is on the editorial boards if International Geology Review and Geologica Acta.   

fiuonline.fiu.edu

120 Credits Required

fiuonline.fiu.edu

235.57 Per Credit Hour (In-State) + Fees

fiuonline.fiu.edu

648.87 Per Credit Hour (Out-of-State) + Fees

* Total tuition and fees are subject to change.

Highlights

  • Fully online degree
  • Transfer credits accepted; reviewed on an individual basis and subject to program approval
  • Every online undergraduate student is paired with a success coach
  • Design a degree that aligns with your goals
  • Unique Capstone project prepares you for after graduation
  • Program starts; Fall, Spring, Summer
  • Become part of an exceptional community and make the most of your education. Join the Honors College.
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