“Is an interdisciplinary studies degree a real degree?” This is a question some prospective students and their families may ask before enrolling and it deserves a direct answer: yes. An interdisciplinary studies degree lets students combine courses from two or more academic disciplines into a single bachelor’s program built around an intentional professional purpose, not an unstructured mix of unrelated classes. The flexibility built into the degree is a design feature, chosen deliberately with an advisor, rather than a default for students who simply can’t settle on one major.
The University of West Alabama’s online BA/BS in Interdisciplinary Studies program is one example of how that structure works in practice: students select courses across UWA’s curriculum with guidance from a personal success coach, building a program of study tied to a specific career direction rather than picking classes at random. That guided, career-linked structure is what prospective students should look for when comparing interdisciplinary programs, since not every school builds in the same level of advising support.
Nationally, this credential already supports a large, employed workforce. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that about 696,000 people hold an interdisciplinary studies degree, working across management, education and healthcare occupations. That distribution matters for a simple reason: employers already hire interdisciplinary studies graduates across multiple sectors, not into one narrow job title.
What Is an Interdisciplinary Studies Degree and How Does It Work?
An interdisciplinary studies degree is a bachelor’s program that combines coursework from two or more fields, such as business, communications, psychology, or education, into one structured plan built around a student’s career goals. Rather than following a single fixed major, students work with an academic advisor to select courses that connect across departments, while still meeting the same general education and credit-hour requirements as a traditional major. That structure keeps the degree accountable to a specific outcome, even though the path to it looks different for every student.
The flexibility inside an interdisciplinary studies major is a design feature, not a shortcut. Students choose their course combinations with an advisor’s guidance and typically build toward a defined professional direction, such as nonprofit management, human resources or education support, rather than assembling credits without a plan. That deliberate structure is also what distinguishes the degree from a “general studies” label, since every course combination is chosen with an end goal in mind.
Interdisciplinary Studies Careers: What Graduates Actually Do
Interdisciplinary studies graduates don’t follow one job title; they move into roles across public service, nonprofit work, business, education and entrepreneurship, applying the same core skills employers say they want most. According to National Association of Colleges and Employers, employers ranked teamwork, problem-solving and communication as the top skills they look for in new graduates in 2026.
Each of those top three is a skill an interdisciplinary curriculum is specifically built to develop, since it requires connecting coursework across departments rather than staying inside one. At UWA, that connection is literal: a student aiming for a nonprofit or HR career can pair business and communication coursework with psychology or public administration classes in the same self-designed program, rather than choosing one department’s requirements over another.
In public service and government, graduates often move into program coordinator and community outreach roles that combine policy knowledge with communication and budget management. The closest occupational match, social and community service managers, carries a median annual wage of $80,390 and a projected 7% job growth through 2035, according to BLS. Nonprofit organizations hire similarly: development associates, whom BLS tracks as fundraisers, report a median wage of $72,550 and 6% projected growth.
Direct-service and case management roles, which BLS tracks as social and human service assistants, report a median wage of $45,930 and don’t require a bachelor’s degree for entry-level positions. A degree like this one still matters for advancement into program coordination or supervisory roles within the same organizations, which typically do require one.
In business and communications, graduates take on marketing coordinator and human resources generalist roles. BLS reports a median wage of $78,760 for market research analysts, the closest tracked occupation to this work, with 7% projected growth. Human resources generalist positions align with what BLS calls human resources specialists, a role that lists a bachelor’s degree in “human resources, business, communications, or a related field” as the typical entry requirement, with a median wage of $75,940.
Corporate training roles, tracked as training and development specialists, pay a median $69,280 with 11% projected growth. In education support, entry roles such as instructional assistants are tracked as teacher assistants, with a median wage of $36,780. Advancement roles like curriculum coordinator fall under instructional coordinators, which typically requires a master’s degree and several years of experience, making it a longer-term path rather than a first job after this degree.
Entrepreneurship follows a different pattern. The U.S. now counts more than 36.2 million small businesses, which generated roughly 9 out of every 10 new private-sector jobs in a recent 12-month period, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. Founders who need to think across finance, marketing and operations are exactly the audience this degree is built for.
Who Should Choose an Interdisciplinary Studies Program?
An interdisciplinary studies program fits four types of students well: the non-traditional student returning to finish a degree, the career changer moving into a new field, the professional with genuinely diverse interests who doesn’t want to abandon any of them and the student who doesn’t fit neatly into one department’s requirements. Each of these students shares one thing in common: they already know a single, traditional major won’t match the direction they’re headed and they need a program built to accommodate that instead of working around it.
For the non-traditional student, UWA’s online BA/BS in Interdisciplinary Studies program accepts up to 90 transfer credit hours from four-year institutions shortening the path back to a diploma for students with prior college or workplace experience. Career changers get a similar advantage: the degree lets students combine coursework from a prior field with courses in a new one, so someone moving from retail management into nonprofit administration can build on both backgrounds instead of starting over.
Professionals with diverse interests and students who don’t fit neatly into one field benefit for the same underlying reason: the degree treats breadth as an asset to plan around, not a problem to fix. A student who wants to combine psychology and business, for instance, isn’t forced to choose between a psychology degree that ignores management coursework and a business degree that ignores behavioral science; an advisor can confirm a combined program still meets degree requirements.
How UWA’s BA/BS in Interdisciplinary Studies Is Structured
UWA’s BA/BS in Interdisciplinary Studies is a 120-credit-hour bachelor’s degree, delivered fully online through 8-week course sessions, with an estimated three to four years to completion for students starting without transfer credit. There’s no fixed list of required concentrations; instead, students design their own course of study across UWA’s curriculum with guidance from an academic advisor, choosing classes that build toward a specific career direction rather than following a preset track.
Admission requires a completed online application along with official high school transcripts or GED scores, plus official college transcripts for students with prior coursework. Tuition runs $325 per credit hour, plus a $120 per-semester technology fee and a $25.50 per-credit-hour course materials fee, with digital textbooks provided through UWA’s Covered Course Materials program rather than billed separately. Support extends beyond admission, too: enrollment counselors guide applicants through the application process before classes even start.
Build a Degree That Matches Where You’re Headed
An interdisciplinary studies degree answers the skepticism it usually faces with a straightforward case: it’s an accredited bachelor’s degree, built on real coursework and a defined credit-hour structure, that trades a single fixed major for a course of study built around a specific career direction. The careers graduates enter, from nonprofit management to human resources to small-business ownership, back that up with real wage and growth data.
For students who already know they don’t fit neatly into one department’s mold, the flexibility built into this degree is the entire point, not a workaround. Choosing that flexibility deliberately, with an advisor’s guidance, is what turns a broad set of interests into a credential employers and graduate programs recognize as intentional.
Design your degree path at UWA Online and turn your varied interests into one intentional bachelor’s degree.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions prospective students ask most often about an interdisciplinary studies degree. Each answer reflects UWA’s BA/BS in Interdisciplinary Studies specifically, though the general pattern applies across most accredited programs.
Is an interdisciplinary studies degree respected by employers?
Yes. Employers rank teamwork, problem-solving and communication as their top skills for new graduates, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers and each of those is a skill an interdisciplinary curriculum is specifically designed to build through coursework spanning multiple departments.
What jobs can you get with an interdisciplinary studies degree?
Graduates move into program coordinator, nonprofit management, human resources, marketing, corporate training and small-business ownership roles, among others, since the degree is built around a specific career direction rather than one job title.
How long does it take to finish a bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies?
At UWA, the program requires 120 credit hours and typically takes three to four years for students without transfer credit; students with prior college coursework or eligible experiential credit often finish faster.
Can I transfer credits into an interdisciplinary studies program?
Yes. UWA accepts up to 90 transfer credit hours from four-year institutions which can significantly shorten the time to degree completion.
About UWA
UWA’s Interdisciplinary Studies program operates through UWA Online, the university’s fully online division. The University of West Alabama is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award degrees from the associate through doctoral level. The University of West Alabama has also earned a Carnegie Classification for Student Access and Earnings, a recognition tied to advancing graduates’ economic mobility and maintains a Quality Enhancement Plan focused on workplace preparation and career-readiness skills for students in their final year of study.
That focus extends across UWA Online generally, giving students in this program the same institution-wide resources as every other online degree UWA offers. Prospective students can review current admission requirements and course offerings directly through UWA’s website. Learn more about UWA Online.