I may be showing my ignorance, but I truly do not get the difference between a Liberal Studies degree and an Interdisciplinary Studies degree. You can somewhat specialize a Liberal Studies degree, and an Interdisciplinary Studies degree has 2 or 3 specializations. Both degrees have A LOT of electives that can be taken, don't actually have a specific major, and seem pretty general in nature. Is there really a difference worth noting between these 2 degrees, or are they pretty much the same thing with different names and slight variations? ASU offers both, and they will spend all kinds of time telling you they are completely different degrees. But for the life of me, I just don't see it. They seem pretty darn similar, if not the same, to me.
There really isn't a standard definition of either variety of degree. Each institution will define the degrees according to its preferences.
If you go the BIS route, then you are required to have a certain number of units in each of two concentrations. So you have to focus your studies to some extent (though not as much as for a traditional major). For online students, there are 12 concentrations available. If you don't see two options there that interest you, then the BIS is probably not a good choice. If you go the BLS route, then you presumably have more freedom to pick and choose whatever electives you want, in whatever disciplines you want. In theory, you could maybe choose lots of electives from two different concentrations, and end up with a BLS degree that would be very similar to a BIS. But then your degree title would not acknowledge your "interdisciplinary" studies, as it would with the BIS. In practice, most BLS students probably take a wide variety of classes, without focusing on "concentrations", and so they end up with degrees that are not as focused as BIS degrees. In terms of career or further education opportunities after graduation, there probably is little difference between the BIS and BLS degrees.
My impression is that Liberal Studies bachelors degrees originated as degrees for prospective multiple-subjects (elementary grades) school teachers. Their requirements (at least in the California State University) are shaped around the requirements for that teaching credential. Interdisciplinary bachelors degrees were more typically self-designed majors, for students who wanted to study some subject that cuts across disciplinary boundaries. For example, a student who wanted to study religious art might create a custom program that draws from the resources of philosophy, religious studies and art history. At least that's how I understood it. Though yeah, they seem to have kind of smeared together subsequently, and there may not always be a whole lot of difference between them today. I guess that students have to look at the small-print catalog requirements to know precisely what a program like this is.
But if someone were to get either one of these degrees, wouldn't they appear unfocused to an employer? At the end of the day, isn't employer perception one of the more important things about a degree? And maybe there are some differences if you read the fine print, but to me personally, both degrees scream "COULDN'T DECIDE WHAT I WANTED SO I DID THIS!!!" If both degrees come off like this, aren't they, at their core, the same then?
Let's say Person A gets a BLS from ASU, with a bunch of miscellaneous electives collected from 12 different departments. Let's say Person B gets a BIS from ASU, with concentrations in Political Science and in Justice Studies. All else being equal, who would you choose for a paralegal job ? Or how about for law school admission ? Is it really a toss-up ?
You can do a BLS degree and get 1 or 2 minors (ASU lets you do up to 3 minors if you REALLY want to). SO what is the difference between a BLS with minors in Political Science and Justice Studies and a BIS with concentrations in Political Science and Justice Studies? Both end up with a TON of electives that can be taken from any available classes, both only have 4 core classes that are required for the major, and both utilize the Poli Sci and Justice Studies minors as specific areas of concentration. SO in this scenario, all things being equal, where is the difference? The BIS degree is just that...BIS. No mention of the concentrations in the official degree name. You would need to specify that you got a BIS with concentrations in Poli Sci and Justice Studies. With the BLS, you would say you got a BLS with minors in Poli Sci and Justice Studies. What's the real difference? If you do the BLS with 2 minors, you also end up with almost the exact same amount of available electives as the BIS. SO again, what is the real, significant difference between the 2 degrees?
I already acknowledged this point in Post #4 above: So in that case, you would be right: there probably isn't much difference between a BLS and a BIS. But is that really the typical case for the BLS? in practice, most BLS students probably don't get multiple minors.
Here is the real difference between the BLS and the BIS, according to College Navigator: ASU BLS degrees issued, 2011-2012: 164 ASU BIS degrees issued, 2011-2012: 674 So the BIS degree is more than 4 times as popular as the BLS degree. I don't know why -- maybe "Interdisciplinary Studies" sounds cooler and more trendy, or maybe there is a stigma attached to "Liberal Studies" in Arizona (home of Goldwater and McCain). But it doesn't matter. For whatever reason, the BIS degree is clearly working from a marketing standpoint, regardless of whether or not it is really unique or necessary. And that may be sufficient reason for it to exist.
I have a BA in Liberal Studies and the reason I chose it was because with all my transferred credits it allowed me to graduate quicker than other majors. Yeah, I've heard all the jokes about Liberal Arts majors but in the end it served it's purpose. Shortly after I graduated I was able to get a job with a large Asian company and then a year later get hired by a Fortune 100 company. In both cases none of the hiring managers even asked me about my major...but they did ask me about the school, TESC. Working in these large companies and just hearing about a lot of my co-workers' educational backgrounds, I realize most people don't even end up working in the industry that they majored in. BTW I know sooo many Psychology grads and none of them are in that field. NMTDD, I know ASU also has a MA in Liberal Studies and USC does too. http://dornsife.usc.edu/mls/uscmls/?gclid=CPSwpK6psrYCFQ6ynQodsngAyg
I think people get too major crazy. There's only a handful of majors I think useful, and most of them are STEM degrees. I landed my job with an AAS degree, two trade certs and my Naval experience. The bachelor's degree was a bonus I completed with the last of my GI Bill.
I only bring this up because I'm curious about it and as a topic of discussion. I see value in almost any degree because learning is valuable no matter the major. But I do think that this kind of thing warrants discussion because it can be confusing when trying to determine the differences in these degrees as well as utility. And frankly, I just like these kind of discussions.
I think Liberal Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies are pretty much in the same boat, splitting hairs really. Neither degree is going to WOW anybody but the same goes for many other majors.
