Personalized Programming:
Master of Interdisciplinary Studies

After graduating, students often ponder what their next steps are to secure a bright future. For many, the answer is graduate school. IU Southeast’s graduate student enrollment has increased by nearly 50% since 2017. Part of that growth has been in the Master of Interdisciplinary Studies (MIS), a program with a long history at IU Southeast which recently became part of the School of Social Sciences.

The MIS degree allows graduate students to design a degree focused on their personal interests with a concentrated career curriculum or a field of expertise. Dr. Sara M. Walsh, the director of the MIS program explains, “The curriculum pathway to obtaining a master’s degree is primarily individualized in the program.” There are eight concentrations in the program, including Digital Media, Gender Studies, Health Humanities, International Studies, and Post-Secondary Instruction. The concentrations provide guidance for students who are interested in more defined tracks.

The Organizational Leadership and Communications concentration is among the more popular options, offering tools and creative insights on behavior in organizations and methods of addressing human resource related problems. Katrina Johansen is a graduate of the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at IU Southeast who is now an MIS student pursuing this concentration. Choosing the MIS program was a way for her to expand beyond the skills set she obtained as an undergraduate. “I wanted to do something within an organization that wasn’t art production.” Johanson plans to use her MIS degree to build business plans, focusing on workforce development through education for fine arts students.

The Applied Behavioral Sciences concentration also connects several industries and disciplines. Asmita Paudel, an international student from Nepal, is in pursuit of a degree revolving around chemistry, neuroscience, and psychology.

Like our undergraduate programming, our work with graduate students aims to support them. Paudel feared that her needs as an international student would be overlooked as she struggled with comprehending and contexualizing the English used in the United States. Since the start of her first semester in the MIS program, Asmita received immediate support from her professors and classmates as she builds her academic foundation with engagement in weekly class discussions. “Although I was afraid and unfamiliar with IU’s administrative system at first,” Paudel explained, “it has been a great experience thanks to my professor [Dr. Sara Walsh].”

Students feel the degree is critical to their career development and personal goals. Johansen’s issues with upward mobility in the fine arts sector are now diminishing because of the new credential. Paudel is discovering new ways to grow her skills as she acclimates to the United States. Both students also share that the appeal of the MIS program for students lies in its flexibility. Combining two or more academic disciplines together into activities that solve everyday problems is exciting.

— D’Andre Richardson