Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies

The Bachelor of Arts major in Interdisciplinary Studies was introduced as a response to the need sounded in academia for greater dialogue among departments and scholars and to the more practical need of the students for flexibility. Since its institution in the late 1970s, the program has produced graduates active in the fields of law, business, education, sports, and the arts. It rests on the belief that reality is complex and multidimensional. Thus, any attempt at understanding reality and discoursing on the same can be achieved—and only provisionally so—after the critical synthesis of the various methodologies and knowledge of different disciplines. What are learned are not only “truths” but also the premises underlying and legitimizing them. The program, therefore, prizes open-mindedness, broadness of vision, reflexivity, and a commitment to knowledge.

The program also recognizes the individuality of each pupil. Instead of dismissing the particular (and sometimes idiosyncratic) inclinations of students, it mines and hones these in the belief that education is self-perfection for the better service of society. Thus, in addition to receiving the humanistic training required by the Ateneo core curriculum, IS majors design their own course of studies, based on their interests and strengths and given the actual means and services of the university, under the supervision of the Department Chair.

The terminal requirement for the degree is a monograph (called the senior paper) in which the IS major integrates the skills, knowledge, and methodologies learned from the classes he or she took to probe, critique, and explain issues, suggest feasible and sound solutions to specific problems, or produce substantial creative work.

With proper guidance and the student’s own commitment, the IS program hopes to engender graduates equipped in the intellectual rigors—and pleasures—of creativity and synthesis, critical thinking and analysis, reflection and self-reflexivity. It is the mission of the Interdisciplinary Studies Department to develop well-rounded students who are able to see beyond disciplinary lines, synthesize knowledge gained from different disciplinary perspectives, have professional skills in disciplines of their own choosing, and are equipped to view and respond to the world from a holistic perspective.

Program Learning Objectives

Apart from being able to do what the revised Ateneo Core Curriculum envisions them as doing, the graduates of the AB Interdisciplinary Studies program should be able to:

1. demonstrate familiarity with key concepts, authors, developments, and works in two disciplines;

2. analyze objects (whether texts, an issue, an event, phenomenon, etc.) in Philippine reality using and integrating appropriate concepts or theories;

3. conduct research or undertake projects, either by himself or herself or with a team, using the appropriate methodologies; and

4. read texts in a foreign (i.e., not a Philippine) language apart from English. 

Curriculum

The Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies Program is premised on the heterogeneity of experience and is thus directed at developing the critical faculty of integration. In practice, AB Interdisciplinary Studies Majors take a menu of classes from two disciplines or areas of study of their choice. These classes are offered by academic Departments or Programs from the four Schools making up the Loyola Schools.

In addition, AB IS Majors take five Interdisciplinary Studies Electives (IDS Electives) and one of the four Great Books classes offered by the Interdisciplinary Studies Department, which in various ways are meeting places of perspectives or methodologies. In their Third Year, AB IS Majors are formally introduced to the concept and practice of interdisciplinarity, as well as to the craft of research, through the course IDS 192: Introduction to Interdisciplinary Approaches. A pair of terminal classes—IDS 199.1: Senior Seminar I and IDS 199.2: Senior Seminar II—allow students to integrate two disciplines in an investigative-analytical paper, an applied research project, or a creative work.

Thus, the AB Interdisciplinary Studies Program combines training in the foundations of two disciplines/areas of study and opportunities for interdisciplinary synthesis.

AB IS Tracks

AB Interdisciplinary Studies Majors take a total of 11 IDS Program Electives (a.k.a. “Major Electives” or MEs for short) in two Tracks of their choice. Of these 11 IDS Program Electives, six courses should be in their preferred Track 1, and five courses should be in their preferred Track 2. These IDS Program Electives are based on the AB Interdisciplinary Studies Track Design, and are taken as advised by the Academic Adviser of the IS Department.

AB IS Majors take:

• 6 courses in their preferred Track 1, and
• 5 courses in their preferred Track 2.

Below are the disciplines or areas of study that may be chosen as IS Tracks:

• Communication
• Computer Science: Management Information Systems
• Computer Science: Multimedia
• Computer Science: Programming
• Economics
• Education
• Fine Arts: Arts Management
• Fine Arts: Creative Writing
• Fine Arts: Information Design
• Fine Arts: Theater Arts
• Foreign Language and Culture: Chinese Studies
• Foreign Language and Culture: French
• Foreign Language and Culture: German
• Foreign Language and Culture: Japanese Studies
• Foreign Language and Culture: Korean Studies
• Foreign Language and Culture: Spanish
• History
• Literature (in English)
• Literature (in Filipino)
• Management
• Music Literature
• Philosophy
• Political Science
• Psychology (Eligibility requirement for PSYC Track: Grade of “B” or higher in SocSc 11: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF)
• Sociology

AB IS Official Curriculum

AB IS Program of Study and Track Design (as of 6 Sep 2023)