IE's New Degrees: An Insight
IE University has launched two new options for incoming bachelor students for this academic year: Politics, Law and Economics (PLE) and Bachelor in Design (BID). Also, the name for the Bachelor in Psychology was decided to change to Bachelor in Behavioral Sciences for the upcoming years, due to a deep restructuring of the course. This article presents the main features behind these changes, and the students’ opinion about them.
The feedback that was received from the students of the PLE program has been positive. “The combination of these three branches is perfect, since it covers many current and fundamental issues," says Alicia Clara, a first year PLE student. "I think PLE is a very complete program that opens the doors to any work in the future.”
At the end of their third year of career, PLE students have to choose their specialisation in one of the three branches which could be either Politics, Law or Economics. If the student decides to study Law, he or she would have to stay at IE for a year more to obtain two diplomas, a PLE and Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B) diploma.
The basic program lasts four years, split in half between the two campuses. It is a joint work between the Law School, the Business School, and the School of International Relations. “These three prestigious schools have combined their expertise in laws, economics and politics respectively to conceive the perfect integration of these converging fields of knowledge.” reads the official IE website.
"By integrating knowledge and hands-on practice in politics, law, and economics, students develop a deep understanding of the dynamics that rule the relations between these three fields, empowering them to become agents of change and have a meaningful impact in a globalised world," says Natalia Uliana, the Associate Director of the Law School. Moreover, the program is focused to foment the critical mindset of the students. Also, according to Uliana, the feedback of the students has been positive so far, which motivates their learning.
The new Bachelor in Design follows the same path as PLE, featuring two years in Segovia and the last two in Madrid. The students have access to the Fab Lab located next to The Cave, where they can see their creations become reality with the help of many modern machines and gadgets, such as 3D printers and laser-cutters.
“The IE Design course is really great for people that want to try a bit of everything and have a bit of expertise in everything”, says Maria Jose Heshiki, a first year Design student. “Not a lot of people realize design is more than just the creative part […] but also has a lot to do with Business. This is exactly what businesses are looking for in people nowadays”.
This program, on the other hand, is run by the IE School of Architecture and Design. It involves “learning from the history of design, methodology and business management to various representational techniques such as drawing for analysis, drawing for communication and 3D visualisation.” explains the official IE website.
In relation to the Bachelor in Behavioral Sciences, the name change will be validated starting in the 2018-19 school year. It is focused on understanding human behavior through different perspectives, aided by the use of different tools focused on technology. “In this program, you will apply the fundamentals of data science to discover what is behind human behavior. You will also learn about modern, precise, and actionable qualitative tools used in diverse fields like ethnography, anthropology, and sociology.” copies the IE website.
Although it seems holistic and ambitious, the replacement of Psychology with this new degree has not been well-received by many students. “I think it is actually super different from the Psychology degree. It has a very different focus. The new degree seems a lot more business and marketing-related. I feel that they just framed it as a replacement for Psychology because it might contain a few classes focused on Consumer Behavior Trends," expresses Oskar Woehr, a third-year Psychology student.
"They could have left the Psychology degree since it is very important in today's modern lifestyle, as it might be close to be replaced by Artificial Intelligence. I like that they introduced this new program, but it is a shame that they removed the Psychology one at the same time."
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