CGS Minor in Interdisciplinary Studies Allows Students to Pursue Diverse Passions

First graduates created a podcast on critical race theory, studied the role of color in advertising, and more

By Chelsea Feinstein

Giulia Lallas (’20, COM’22) and Natalie Seara (’20, COM’22) were the first two students to graduate with the Minor in Interdisciplinary Studies this spring.

The first two students to complete the CGS Minor in Interdisciplinary Studies graduated this May.

The minor, introduced in spring 2021, focuses on the intersection of the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, and the way that thinking across these disciplines can help to solve real-world problems. Students are required to complete two 200-level CGS courses, two interdisciplinary electives, an interdisciplinary directed study, and a Cross-College Challenge course, a project-based elective taught by two instructors from different disciplines. They also must participate in Capstone, a group research project.

Giulia Lallas (’20, COM’22) and Natalie Seara (’20, COM’22) saw the minor as a way to build on their CGS foundations while pursuing a diverse set of interests.

Lallas, an advertising major with an interest in the environment, completed her directed study with Robin Hulbert, a CGS lecturer in natural science and mathematics, studying the role of color in nature and advertising.

She took a Cross-College Challenge course on investigative journalism, learning how to submit public records requests, analyze data sets, and turn them into stories of journalistic value.

Lallas says the opportunity to pursue two vastly different projects her senior year was part of the program’s appeal.

“It’s a different world that I just wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise,” she says. “I feel like that’s what this program did really well. It really opened so many different doors to so many different subjects.”

Seara (left) worked with CGS Associate Dean Lynn O’Brien Hallstein on a directed study on portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II in media.

Seara did her directed study with Lynn O’Brien Hallstein, CGS associate dean for faculty research and development, analyzing the portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II in media and exploring the gender stereotypes in how each queen was represented. The project combined Seara’s interest in the arts with O’Brien Hallstein’s expertise in gender studies.

Seara says the directed study “is a nice way to end your career in CGS as well as continue that network you have with your professors. You get to pursue your own interests and explore whatever you’d like to research.”

For her Cross-College Challenge project, Seara worked with a team to create a podcast on critical race theory at BU.

O’Brien Hallstein says the directed study is an example of a “flipped” learning experience, where the student takes the lead.

“The directed study allows the student and faculty member to undo the traditional model of learning, where the faculty member bestows their wisdom upon the student, and instead facilitates an approach to learning where the student leads the initiative and works collaboratively with the faculty member,” she says.

The minor is open to all BU undergraduates who want to expand their problem-solving skills and build a foundation in the liberal arts.

For Lallas and Seara, it was a culmination of their academic experience at BU.

Lallas describes the program as a mini thesis. “It’s a nice way to pursue your interests,” she says, “and, for me, it definitely opened the door to a possible PhD program in the future, which I hadn’t even considered before.”