I’d initially described my journey in the University of Washington’s Integrated Social Sciences program as commencing on a mountain climb. I still find that metaphor appropriate, as this expedition has involved hard work, stunning views, a sense of purpose, and a tremendous sense of satisfaction for having made the summit.
While traversing this path, I have experienced a sense of intellectual growth which has supplemented my already existing passions, educational interests, and skill sets. Having been fortunate to visit five continents and over twenty countries in the last ten years, I’d nourished an already surging interest in other cultures and various philosophical and spiritual approaches. In addition, I have worked for a corporate office in Bellevue, WA, where I’ve broadened my professional and interpersonal skills within the workplace. In conjunction with these practical experiences in the professional world, as well as the richness of my travel experiences, my ISS education has complemented and deepened both. A college education certainly provides a tremendous advantage in the workplace; it’s a necessity for most professionals.
The ISS degree gives an edge to someone of my interests and past experiences that other university degrees may not. First, it integrates multiple social science disciplines, thereby demonstrating how such diverse fields as sociology, anthropology, political science, psychology, and gender studies complement and build upon each other. Secondly, the ISS program concentrates on non-traditional students that find an online approach to be the most practical in completing a degree.
In reviewing my ISS experiences, I’ve noticed certain themes and leitmotifs which have shown themselves repeatedly. My interests in political science, geopolitics, and what attributes comprise a successful nation-state were more highly formed and deepened by courses such as Failed States, The World on the Couch, Survey of American Political Thought, and Political Islam and Islamic Fundamentalism. These courses enriched my understanding of prior experiences visiting nations such as Egypt, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkey, as well as learning more of seminal personalities located closer to home, such as Frederick Douglass and James Baldwin. While researching the latter two figures, I have produced some of the best work of my academic career in essays reflecting on their inspiring lives and thought.
My studies in both gender studies and cultural anthropology in the ISS program have been lifechanging for me, as I’ve become familiar with the feminist thought of bell hooks and Patricia Hill Collins, as well as the cultural anthropology of Frantz Fanon. Both of these approaches strive to uncover systemic racism and patriarchalism – hooks and Collins within an overtly feminist framework, with Fanon in an anti-Colonial mode. I have been deeply impressed by all their work, and I am truly a better person for being introduced to it. The scientific rigor required for courses in the hard sciences, such as Philosophy of Science and Astronomy, have helped sharpen my quantitative research skills, complementing the research I’ve referenced above.
What is so remarkable about the ISS program is this commingling of qualitative and quantitative approaches, which has certainly been unique during my academic career. These skills and approaches must be held together by writing which is eloquent, pithy, and accurate, and I know that the ISS program has assisted greatly in improving my literary skills.
With an ISS degree, one may pursue a career in education, counseling, research, and business analysis, among many other fields. My already established professional skills and travel experiences have been greatly nurtured by the ISS program, and the combination of all these will be a crucial support as I pursue a career in international relations and counseling.