Interdisciplinary Masters Programs?

[AsterNox]

Hello everyone,

I come to you all looking for a bit of advice as I begin my investigation into Masters programs.

I graduated about 2 years ago from Hampshire College, an interdisciplinary school that offers a BA in a concentration, rather than a major. My concentration can best be described as "Consumer Behavior", wherein I combined sociology and (to a lesser extent) psychology with business. Hampshire College is not a traditional college and sets itself up to be like a Masters program and allows its students to design and complete their own curriculums with an emphasis on interdisciplinarity. This worked very well for me, and I was hoping to continue this method in my Masters work.

I've begun looking into Masters programs that would either A.) Allow me to concentrate specifically in Consumer Behavior or, B.) Allow me to develop my own degree, which would give me the opportunity to develop my degree as I see fit. I am aware that there are a few programs in the US that would allow me to do the former, such as Purdue, or get a closely related marketing degree, such as at Kellog. My concern however, is the lack of interdisciplinarity; they tend to be too focused, which I feel is a bit constricting. As such, I've begun looking at alternative programs, such as Skidmore's MALS program or Harvard's Extension School. I have, however, heard mixed reviews on such programs, ranging from "Completely valid and well-regarded" to "Not worth the paper the degree is printed on".

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of well-regarded interdisciplinary masters programs? Or is my best bet to follow a traditional route and go to a Marketing program? My goal is to acquire a PhD, and thus to further my education rather than immediately go into the work force.

Cheers, and thank you so much for reading!

[gilbertrollins]

Check out Chicago's Committee on Social Thought. Two things, though. The thesis titles tell me it's a humanities-leaning culture of social scientists. Claims to be completely open to interdisciplinary study are not in my (limited) experience true anywhere. And two, their placement rates are self-published. So yes, among students whom they've recommended and supported, gobs have been accepted to good programs. That says nothing about how many students have left the program without support.

I would just do a business PhD in marketing, which have competent sequences of core courses set up, advisers prepared to land within at least buck-shot range of your interests, and a yet-still broad enough field to afford you independence. Outside accounting and economics specializations in business departments, the specializations seem extremely broad.

Edited October 25, 2012 by econosocio

[RefurbedScientist]

Check out Chicago's Committee on Social Thought. Two things, though. The thesis titles tell me it's a humanities-leaning culture of social scientists. Claims to be completely open to interdisciplinary study are not in my (limited) experience true anywhere. And two, their placement rates are self-published. So yes, among students whom they've recommended and supported, gobs have been accepted to good programs. That says nothing about how many students have left the program without support.

I would just do a business PhD in marketing, which have competent sequences of core courses set up, advisers prepared to land within at least buck-shot range of your interests, and a yet-still broad enough field to afford you independence. Outside accounting and economics specializations in business departments, the specializations seem extremely broad.

Based on what you've briefly said, AsterNox, I do not think the Committee on Social Thought at UChic is what you're looking for. First off, it's only PhD. Second, it very much leans humanities. If you're even remotely considering a marketing or management degree, then I doubt you'll want to spend 10 years working on hermeneutics of Proust and Mao, or whatever they do there.

You could look into an organizational behavior/studies program. I hear good things about Sloan's Org Studies program. In general, MIT will afford you access to academic resources outside of the more narrow B-school model. http://mitsloan.mit.edu/osg/

That won't really get at consumer behavior though.

I will be the first to pose one question that is common around here. What do you want to do with a masters degree specialized in "consumer behavior"? It's an interesting topic, from what you describe, but interesting topics are really only valuable in academica (for which you would need a PhD, most likely). If you plan on a career in the private sector, then you'll probably want a professional degree like an MBA, which will necessarily be mono-disciplinary. I think MBA programs at schools like Stanford, Northwestern, and MIT might be somewhat more open to cross-fertilization. But there's usually standardization. Now, if you just want to pursue a masters for the sake of learning, or as a stepping stone to some other advanced education, then that's another thing. In that case, Harvard Extension is great. As far as a degree that will get you a job, it's not so valuable.

[gilbertrollins]

Huh -- socialgroovements is right that it's PhD only. I swear I read about an interdisciplinary masters at Chicago. Maybe just crossing wires. Anyway sorry about that.

[RefurbedScientist]

Huh -- socialgroovements is right that it's PhD only. I swear I read about an interdisciplinary masters at Chicago. Maybe just crossing wires. Anyway sorry about that.

That's the Masters Programs in Social Science. MAPSS. If the OP searches MAPSS on grad cafe, she/he will find a great deal of opinions about that program. It's a one year, interdisciplinary social science degree. Partial funding is sometimes available, making it an attractive stepping stone to PhD. As far as I know, it's not generally useful except for the purpose of pursuing academia.

[jogatoronto]

Check out the Sociology Department at the London School of Economics. The M.Sc in Sociology (Economic Sociology) sounds like it might fit your needs. Only 1 core course, which is a half unit in Economic Sociology. The rest of the classes you can choose from almost any department in the school that you and your adviser see fit.