The Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies is offered by the College of Arts and Sciences as a means to combine the theory and practice of several strands or disciplines of inquiry originating in the arts, the humanities, the sciences, and the social sciences. These degrees provide an opportunity for substantial academic preparation and advanced mastery in interrelated areas of study that have the power to stimulate multidimensional views of complex knowledge. Students in these graduate degrees build multifaceted competencies, creative practices, and broadminded perspectives that may reach across a select range of discourses and experience. The multidisciplinary structure of these programs provides a flexible curriculum of coursework suitable to the stimulation of participants’ continued intellectual growth, personal satisfaction, and career advancement in evolving fields relevant to the challenges of life, work, and learning in diverse settings of the twenty-first century.
At least 48 credits are required for the interdisciplinary studies graduate degree. The curriculum consists of core graduate coursework in interdisciplinary research and in two or more disciplinary or subject matter components that include a major area of concentration and one or more support areas, also called minor areas of concentration. The actual courses required are selected by the student under the guidance of an advisor and Graduate Committee from one or more of the selected fields of study, with the approval of the Graduate Coordinator and the College Dean.
The interdisciplinary core requires 8 credits: CAS 520 , CAS 521 , and CAS 522 . The major area of concentration requires 16–28 approved graduate credits in a selected strand of inquiry or from a participating department, unit, or program; the support area comprises 12–16 credits of approved graduate credits in one or more additional strands of inquiry from another department or program outside the major area of concentration. Students also complete a comprehensive examination and a final project (thesis or project) and an oral defense.
Areas of Concentration in a Major
- Biology
- Criminology and Criminal Justice
- English and Writing
- Health and Physical Education
- Social Studies
Support Areas:
- Anthropology
- Art and Art History
- Business
- Communication
- Computer Science
- Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Economics
- Education
- English and Writing
- Environmental Studies
- Foreign Languages and Literatures (Spanish, French)
- Geography
- Health and Physical Education
- History
- International Studies
- Mathematics
- Music
- Political Science
- Social Sciences
- Sociology
- Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies
This list is subject to change. Please contact the College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Coordinator to confirm program participation.
