Acceptance Criteria

Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall.
Minimum grade of "C" in PSY 101 and SSC 103.

Acceptance Information

Deadlines: Rolling
Number of accepted majors (2010-2011):
Community Mental Health - 140
Early Childhood - 137
Social Gerontology - 26

Total number of majors currently enrolled:
Community Mental Health - 232
Early Childhood - 238
Social Gerontology - 37

Degree Requirements

Please see Degrees and Policies.

Each of the interdisciplinary degree programs offers a curriculum that allows students to combine coursework from three or more departments in the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition, a number of interdisciplinary and special-interest courses are offered through the IDP. There are also options to incorporate courses from other areas of the university, allowing students to obtain a broad range of skills and education.

The typical class size for:

Freshman/introductory courses is: 45-200
Sophomore/intermediate courses is: 45-50
Upper level/advanced courses is: 45-90

In the IDP concentration, what do teaching assistants (TAs) do?

Many courses in the social sciences interdisciplinary program's curricula originate in other departments, where teaching assistants may be assigned instructional or grading duties.

Suggested Introductory Courses

• APY 105 Introduction to Anthropology or SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology or COM 101 Principles of Communication
• BIO 129 Perspectives in Human Biology
• PSY 101 Introduction to Psychology
• SSC 103 Introduction to Health and Human Services
• A basic statistics course

For course descriptions, please see the Undergraduate Catalog.

The IDP faculty, though limited in number, not only teach courses applicable to the program's degree tracks, but are also involved in the advisement of IDP majors, a function that is vitally important for students selecting courses from a number of different departments. Many faculty work as professionals in their area of instruction.

The interdisciplinary degree programs' concentrations offer an opportunity to focus studies on a particular topic whose breadth and diversity overlap several departments in the College of Arts and Sciences faculty.

Undergraduate Research and Practical Experience

Internships

The Interdisciplinary Degree Program in Health and Human Services provides an opportunity for practical fieldwork in an internship experience. The primary academic emphases of these internships notwithstanding, many graduates have found these experiences beneficial when seeking employment.

See the UB Student Association.

Majors that Complement Health and Human Services

• Anthropology
• Nursing
• Psychology
• Sociology

Minors that Complement Health and Human Services

• Education
• Sociology
• Spanish
• Speech and Hearing