In today’s Pope Center piece, Troy Camplin discusses that strange campus phenomenon known as “interdisciplinary studies.” He argues that this could and indeed should be a serious field of study, pointing to a book making a strong case for it. Unfortunately, colleges and universities don’t take it seriously, allowing it to serve as a weak “create your own major” playground for students who aren’t making it in fields where some semblance of academic standards still hold sway. He mentions a student who was pre-med, but couldn’t handle the work; became a biology major, but couldn’t handle that either; and was finally advised to become an interdisciplinary-studies major. The student was told that medical school was still a good possibility for her. Talk about stringing a student along!
Camplin asks, How anyone could teach a demanding interdisciplinary-studies course when the majority of students taking it are the flotsam and jetsam of majors that still give students bad grades?