About

It is becoming abundantly clear that so many of the vexing problems and difficult questions our nation and our world face cannot be resolved with simple, one-dimensional answers. From poverty to global warming, political strife to disease, we, as a society and as a university, need to develop the ability to see these issues in all of their multi-faceted complexity. This will involve all of us learning to look at these problems from new angles, moving beyond the traditional limitations imposed by disciplinary boundaries. Developing such new habits of mind will foster the creativity necessary to tackle the many challenges we collectively face.

The Office of Interdisciplinary Collaborations works to advance these goals

• through seed grants for faculty research projects and courses
• through course releases for interdisciplinary teaching
• by housing interdisciplinary courses and programs that span colleges
• by housing the BIS degree in which students choose 3 disciplines and integrate their studies in a 2-semester capstone project