INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES PROGRAM

Coordinator: Sunita Manian

MISSION

The Interdisciplinary Studies Program offers students an opportunity to integrate the various aspects of their liberal arts education through the study of problems and topics too broad to be fully addressed by any one discipline. The Interdisciplinary Studies Program fosters the goals of a liberal arts education, as it promotes mastery of many disciplinary perspectives, a greater appreciation of the differences and similarities between the disciplines, and the integration of these diverse perspectives into a more holistic framework. The Interdisciplinary Studies Program develops the critical ability needed to solve many contemporary problems, and prepares the student for a variety of professional careers which demand breadth of knowledge and excellent problem-solving skills.

The program offers students two ways to achieve these goals. First, it offers courses in the Core curriculum (prefix IDST) that fulfill several of the Core requirements. Second, the program offers a major and several minors that allow students to pursue a given topic across departmental lines.

CAREER INFORMATION

The Interdisciplinary Studies Program offers students a broader and more varied approach to learning than that of the traditional single-discipline major. The IDST core courses prepare students to apply knowledge to a variety of circumstances, while the major in Liberal Studies is appropriate for students who plan to do graduate study in fields that require no specific major or that encourage multi-disciplinary undergraduate study.

DEGREE AND MINORS OFFERED

For more information, visit the Interdisciplinary Studies Program Web site.