Four unique interdisciplinary programs at McDaniel College
The liberal arts at McDaniel make interdisciplinary studies achievable for students. But what is an interdisciplinary program? What do interdisciplinary studies look like? Learn about just four programs that build unique pathways for Green Terrors: Food Studies, Africana Studies, Actuarial Science, and Kinesiology.
As a liberal arts college, McDaniel supports students as they study at the intersections of their passions, no matter how different the disciplines may seem. With unique, interdisciplinary major and minor combinations and a Design Your Own option, McDaniel graduates enter into fields that they are uniquely prepared for.
What is an interdisciplinary program? It’s a course of study that integrates multiple subject areas to provide an education that is both well-rounded and focused.
Interdisciplinary knowledge is something that careers like conflict resolution counselor, entertainment lawyer, or art conservator have in common. Their awareness of topics across the board allows them to find a niche in the market, innovate, and perform their roles to the max.
While a liberal arts curriculum and the McDaniel Commitment offer avenues for tailor-made education, McDaniel offers a few programs that exist at the crossroads of traditional subject areas.
- Here are just four of the interdisciplinary programs at McDaniel:
- Food Studies (major, minor)
- Learn more about the degree in Food Studies
- Coordinator: Mo Esa
- What is Food Studies? It’s McDaniel’s newest major in a growing field. Food is a core part of the human experience, but not all humans experience it the same way. Through literature, social studies, science, data analysis, hands-on gardening, and historical perspectives, Food Studies students delve into the subject from all angles. It’s not only multidisciplinary, but also cross-cultural. That’s why this program is easily combined with other majors and minors, to prepare students for careers involving something we all love: food.
- Careers for Food Studies majors include:
- Food scientists or technologists
- Chefs, bakers, and pastry artists
- Public health specialists
- Hospitality and restaurant managers
- Agriculture or food science technicians
- Sustainability consultants
- Restaurant publicists
- Nutritionists
- Food batchmakers
- Culinary journalists
- Africana Studies (minor)
- Learn more about the minor in Africana Studies
- Coordinator: Linda L. Semu
- Africana Studies guides students through the history, heritage, and cultures of African-origin peoples around the world — including in the U.S. In courses like Black Music: Slave Songs to Rap, students become a scholar of both history and contemporary culture.
- “Students have the option to take courses that focus on cultural, economic, historical, political, psychological and sociological issues affecting people of African descent and the African Diaspora from comparative and multidisciplinary perspectives,” says Linda Semu, professor of Sociology and coordinator for the African Studies program.
- “Africana Studies encompasses varied approaches to such topics as Diaspora Studies; culture, religion, music and art; women, gender and sexuality; health; politics; and social and economic policy,” Semu says. “The field is pliable in its ability to shift focus in response to demographic shifts within the Black population in the U.S. This has mostly been the case following the post-1970s rise of mass incarceration, as well as the growth of immigrants from Continental Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America.”
Careers fields related to Africana Studies:
- Medicine and health
- Journalism
- Nonprofit organizations
- Law
- Social work
- Education
- Civil Service Work
- Public Affairs and Policy
- Actuarial Science (major)
- Learn more about the Actuarial Science major
- Coordinator: Spencer Hamblen
- For the everyday person, risk assessment is paired with instinct and personal experience. For professional risk-assessors, aka actuaries, there’s a science to it. The Actuarial Science major exists at the intersection of mathematics, statistics, and business. Many private and government fields need help analyzing financial risk, so McDaniel graduates can find careers that match their every interest. Faculty and alumni also provide guidance on the extensive exams that actuaries-to-be must pass to qualify for industry positions.
Careers for Actuarial Science majors include:
- Life or health insurance actuary
- Property and casualty insurance actuary
- Enterprise risk management actuary
- Pension and retirement benefits actuary
- Public sector actuary
- Insurance agent
- Mathematician
- Statistician
Gill Physical Education Learning Center Kinesiology’s new labs and classrooms open in Gill Center
The newly renovated Gill Center bustles with activity. After all, this is the epicenter of McDaniel’s study of movement — the place Kinesiology students and faculty alike call home. Three classrooms, three labs, nine faculty offices and a seminar room were newly built inside Gill Center to support a program that prepares students for careers as health professionals, coaches, athletic trainers, physical education teachers, personal trainers and others whose work centers on the science of physical activity and movement.
