The culture and theory interdisciplinary tract offers students the opportunity to apply theoretical framework to the study of sociology and social sciences. Students choose from theoretical tracts like gender or women's studies, queer theory or any number of race-related fields and then study the background and cultural practices that form the basis for these modes of thought and interactions. According to the UC Irvine website, the "goal is to produce students who can bring theoretical sophistication to addressing problems in the humanities, social sciences and the arts...[while] develop[ing] new modes of theorizing and problem-solving."
This broad based blended program offers students the ability to research specific trends and uses of technology while exploring the underlying science and principle behind their creation and utilization. Simultaneously, the student studies the scientific principles behind technology and their application and construction in the real world. In order to better understand the background and basis for technology in society the program focuses on not just building or utilizing modern technology but understanding the need for and basic working order of the mechanized world.
In this field, students focus on both the past history of modern science and the underlying principles and events that have lead to current theory and practice. For example, a person in this program may choose to not only explore Darwin's Theory of Evolution but also the cultural events and atmosphere that lead up to his discovery, the initial popular skepticism for the theory and the eventual acceptance of it in academic fields.
Those students interested in family counseling might choose this blended, interdisciplinary tract to discover the connections between family relationships and childhood development. Focusing on both parental and childhood interactions with each other and society, the program allows students to delve into the influence of the family unit on societal development and personality. This field could possibly encompass sociology, psychology, cultural studies, childhood sciences and education. Most programs of this nature, like much of the interdisciplinary studies, allow students to explore their own path unencumbered by predetermined courses of study.