Bachelors in Interdisciplinary Studies FAQ

Students pursue interdisciplinary degrees so that they can mix related disciplines that are not available through a traditional major. This diverse background can make you more marketable in very specialized fields or specific business environments that do not have a traditional major associated with them. The online bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies may also act as a stepping stone to get you through your undergraduate degree as quickly as possible so you can pursue a master’s degree in a specific field.

If your situation relates to 1 or more of the following statements, then a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies may meet your academic goals and needs.

• I put my degree on hold to start a career or a family, and now I want to finish my degree.
• I have an associate degree and would like to apply some of those credits to my major and continue another area of study that complements what I have already learned.
• I have a lot of life experience and have accumulated a significant number of non-traditional learning credits from workforce training or military training.
• I used to attend Liberty University residentially, but now I am living out of the area and need to finish my degree. However, the program I was attending on campus is not available online.
• I am transferring a significant number of credits from an area that Liberty University Online does not offer and I want to be able to apply those credits to a major.
• I am on the verge of retirement, and I’m pursuing this degree for personal fulfillment or to focus on ministry. 
• I live in the Lynchburg area and would like to pursue my degree online and pursue an area of study on campus that is not offered online.
• Based on my career goals, I would like to combine 2 or more areas of study rather than pursuing one area of study that is offered in another degree online.
• I plan to take courses at a local college that are not offered online, and then I would like to apply those to my major.

If you have not yet established a career, you should consider a degree that will make you the most competitive in that industry or field. For example, some fields such as education or counseling require licensure, and this is best accomplished through a traditional degree program specifically designed to meet those requirements. Also, if you are pursuing a graduate degree that requires specific course prerequisites or requires a specific bachelor’s degree type, then you should consider a traditional degree program that prepares you to meet those prerequisites.

An area of study is an academic discipline that resembles a major or minor but is specific to a degree track. What makes an area of study different from a major or minor is that there are no specific course requirements for it. You can choose to take any course that is required in the corresponding area of study and have more flexibility to choose which courses you take as long as you meet the prerequisite requirements. You may also use transfer credits that do not correspond to a specific Liberty course but are in the same topic area.

For example, a specialized 200-level accounting class that Liberty does not offer may transfer as an ACCT 2XX elective. This class could not be used to meet a major course requirement for the bachelor’s in business administration: accounting, but it would fit into the online interdisciplinary studies program’s business area of study.

In a bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies online degree program, you must have at least 2 areas of study that total 45 credits, or you can choose 3 areas of study that are 15 credits each.

Specialized areas of study can be completed 100% online through Liberty University and require a minimum of 9 credits of upper-level courses. For information on what those areas of study are and the specific courses that fit into them, please visit our areas of study page.

General areas of study allow you to transfer up to 100% of the credits needed for an area to Liberty, and they do not have a specific number of upper-level courses required. But you should keep in mind that one of the graduation requirements for the B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies degree is that you complete a minimum of 30 hours of upper-level courses for your degree. So even though the general areas of study do not have an upper-level course requirement, you may need additional upper-level courses to graduate.

There are limited courses available online through Liberty to complete the general areas of study. For information on the available general areas of study and the courses that fit into them, please visit our areas of study page.

If you recently applied for the bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies program, you must first wait for acceptance and full admission. The day after your acceptance, you will receive an email asking you to complete an online survey to choose your areas of study. You can also find the INDS Areas of Study Selection Survey on our website (login required). Once you have completed the online survey, you will receive a degree completion plan within 2 weeks.

If you have already received a degree plan and wish to change your areas of study, please resubmit the areas of study survey linked above.

If you are not currently pursuing the B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies degree and you would like to see a sample degree plan, please email your request with your area of study choices to indsareas@liberty.edu, and you will receive an unofficial consultation.

You must submit a Future Course Evaluation (formally RTTAC) through the Transfer Suite (login required). Please ensure that the courses you are requesting will total at least 15 credits in your desired area of study. For assistance, email the INDS Coordinator at indsareas@liberty.edu. Keep in mind that a certain number of courses need to be completed through Liberty University to meet graduation requirements.

Students who have not been accepted to Liberty University should contact an admissions counselor to receive a projection of their transfer credit through an Unofficial Transfer Consultation.