Interdisciplinary 🧐
The Importance of Building Your Teen's College Vocabulary
One of my favorite questions to ask teens preparing for college is quite simple: “What does the word interdisciplinary mean?”
Most teens, even my 4.4 weighted GPA students with near-perfect SAT scores, struggle to define this word:
“I don’t know, does it have something to do with being punished?”
They aren’t wrong, but they aren’t right. The word “interdisciplinary” comes from the word discipline, which now means punishment. In fact, the word “discipline” comes from the Latin word for pupil, discipulus, which references engages someone in instruction.
The word “interdisciplinary” is one of the more common words you’ll see on a liberal arts college website. And, if your teen doesn’t know what the word means—or quickly processes the word to mean punishment—imagine how ineffective their college research will be?! Teens can’t do effective college research if they don’t know essential college vocabulary.
This isn’t just about this one word. There are so many new words that teens and their parents benefit from learning early on. This new vocabulary is overwhelming if teens are first introduced to these words in junior year. Each new word is a reminder of something they don’t know. This overwhelm and reminder of their steep learning curve is one of the main reasons teens avoid doing college research…because the websites overwhelm them. And rather than stop to look up each new word, they stop reading. How can teens do college research when they can’t differentiate gibberish from gibberish?
College websites, brochures, and course catalogs are filled with terms like “liberal arts”"core curriculum," "capstone projects," “seminars,” “externships,” “experiential learning, ." Without familiarity with these words, students may struggle to grasp what colleges offer and what aligns with their interests. If they can't comprehend what they read, they might assume a school isn't the right fit when, in reality, it could be a perfect match.
It’s ok if your teen does not understand what words like liberal arts, core curriculum, capstones, seminars, externships, dual-degrees, co-op programs, general education requirements, competency-based education, and experiential learning mean when they are in 9th and 10th grade. But, by the time your teen is a junior, they should be fluent in these words in order to dive into college research and planning.
Starting to learn about college vocabulary early is empowering and exciting—like unlocking a new level of a video game while you still have plenty of time to play. Instead of scrambling to figure it all out in the middle of the college application process, students can build confidence by gradually increasing their understanding over time.
Stay tuned for my essential college vocabulary guide… in the meantime, here is your first word:
The word INTERDISCIPLINARY refers to studying something through the lens of multiple subjects. Interdisciplinary classes and majors prepare students to think critically while fostering problem-solving and a broad perspective—key skills for a job market that is evolving faster than ever before.
One example of an interdisciplinary major is Environmental Studies, which combines science (biology, chemistry, ecology) with political science (laws and policies) and sociology (human behavior).
One example of an interdisciplinary course is Introduction to Scientific Illustration from Evergreen State College that combines Art, Natural History, Science, and Illustration.
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