Faculty of Graduate Studies & Research
University of Alberta
2-29 Killam Centre for Advanced Studies
Graduate Interdisciplinary Studies
The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research acknowledges a number of types of interdisciplinary graduate
programs
A.
Established Dual Degree Programs
MBA/LLB; MBA/MAg; MBA/MEng; MBA/MF; and MBA/PhD
B.
Established Interdisciplinary Programs
Neuroscience Division: MSc (thesis-based); PhD
Centre for Health Promotion Studies: MSc (thesis-based); MSc (course-based); and Postgraduate Diploma
Campus St-Jean: MA (avec thèse)
C.
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program Proposals for Individuals
Purposes and Objectives
Although many graduate programs are already interdisciplinary to some extent and include the flexibility for
students to meet their objectives within the existing program, it may be that a proposed area of study for an
individual student cannot be effectively accommodated within a single department. When a student’s knowledge
base is at the interstices of two or more disciplines an individual interdisciplinary graduate program may be an
appropriate response.
In her landmark book, Interdisciplinary: History, Theory, and Practice (1990), Julie Thompson Klein notes that
“educators, researchers, and practitioners have all turned to interdisciplinary work in order to accomplish a range of
objectives: to answer complex questions; to address broad issues; to explore disciplinary and professional relations;
and to achieve unity of knowledge, whether on a limited or grand scale.”1
Between Disciplines, a 1993 report on “The UBC Joint-Faculties Symposium on Interdisciplinarity,” distinguishes
between interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research:
Multidisciplinary research: participants do their own disciplinary ‘thing’; each acts as a
disciplinary expert; knowledge claims are based on the authority of that expertise; the final
product does not integrate the disciplinary contributions.
Interdisciplinary research: individuals may choose research problems, which require
extensive insights from several disciplines; they must have a full and colloquial understanding
of the major portion of the second discipline. Success is measured, in part, by their ability to
publish in the journals of disciplines other than their own.
Transdisciplinary research: research held together by a common ideological framework such
as structuralism, semiotics, post-structuralism, post-modernism, general systems theory, etc.2
The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program Proposal for Individuals form is designed to streamline the application process and ensure that adequate
academic standards of supervision, facilities, and other resources necessary to offer such a program are in place.
[Graduate Program Manual, Individual Interdisciplinary Studies, page 46]
______________________
1
Julie Thompson Klein, Interdisciplinarity: History, Theory, and Practice (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990: 11. (From Jo-Ann
Wallace, A Report on Interdisciplinary Studies in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, 1998).
2
Between Disciplines: A Report on the UBC-Joint Faculties Symposium on Interdisciplinarity, 5-6 March 1993 (August 1993), p.4 These
definitions are drawn from Jill Vickers, “Where is the Discipline in Interdisciplinarity” in Interdisciplinarity/L’Interdisciplinarite, Association for
Canadian Studies/Association d’etudes canadiennes (September 1992). (From Jo-Ann Wallace, A Report on Interdisciplinary Studies in the
Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, 1998).
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Note:
 Students and supervisors are encouraged to consider interdisciplinary graduate program proposals for
individuals as early in their program as possible. Any transfer normally should be made at least six months prior
to candidacy for doctoral students and within the first six months of the program for a master’s candidate.
[Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 1.3.b]

Applicants to an interdisciplinary graduate program for individuals should have a superior academic record with
substantial background in at least one of the proposed disciplines
[Graduate Program Manual, Eligibility and Admission Requirements]

Interdisciplinary graduate programs for individuals are restricted to thesis degree programs, master’s and
doctoral, and are not applicable to probationary or qualifying students.
[Graduate Program Manual, Eligibility and Admission Requirements]

Students transferring from a graduate program either in the home or conjoint department will require a
Recommendation for a Change of Category form rather than an Application for Graduate Admission form.
[Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 1.3.b]

To access the Graduate Program Manual on the web go to www.ualberta.ca/gradstudies
How to Proceed
1. The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program Proposal for Individuals application has two parts. The first part
should be completed and signed by the applicant and delivered to the Supervisor. It is the responsibility of the
applicant to develop a preliminary research proposal that both defines the focus of the research and
interdisciplinary approach. Application is made through the home department/faculty.
[Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 1]
2. The second part should be completed and signed by the supervisor in the home department/ faculty and the
co-supervisor in the conjoint department/faculty. (Determination of the home vs conjoint department/faculty
is a decision made by the chairs and/or graduate coordinators of the departments/faculties in consultation with
the student. The department of the co-supervisor will be designated as the conjoint department.
[Graduate Program Manual, Role of the Home and Conjoint Departments]
3. The department chairs/graduate coordinators from both departments should also review and sign the application.
[Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 2]
4. The home department forwards the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program Proposal for Individuals along with
appropriate documentation (either Graduate Application for Admission and official transcripts, etc or
Recommendation for Change of Category form) to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.
5. FGSR reviews the proposal and informs the departments and the student of the outcome.
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Interdisciplinary Graduate Program Proposal for Individuals
The following application reflects information required according to the Graduate Program Manual.
[Admissions, Individual Interdisciplinary Studies pages 46- 48]. [Approved by FGSR Council, 1994/05/27]
Name of Applicant: _________________________________________________
Applicant’s U of A ID #: ______________
Degree: [Graduate Program Manual, Designation of the Degree, page 46]







MA (thesis-based)
MBA (thesis-based)
MDes (thesis-based)
MEd (thesis-based)
MFA (thesis-based)
MLIS (thesis-based)
MMus (thesis-based)
 MN (thesis-based)
 MPH (thesis-based)
 MSc (thesis-based)
 LLM (thesis-based)
 EdD
 DMus
 PhD
Proposed Start Date of Interdisciplinary Program:
 Fall Term 20__
 Winter Term 20__
 Spring Term 20__
 Summer Term 20__
Proposed Home Department:
Proposed Conjoint Department
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Applicant’s Proposed Research Statement
(To be completed by the applicant)
It is the responsibility of the applicant to develop a preliminary research proposal that both defines the focus of the
research and the interdisciplinary approach. Apply through the home department.
[Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 1]
Academic area in which you have substantial background______________________
[Graduate Manual Eligibility and Admission Requirements]
Secondary academic area ____________________________
Proposed Research Statement (see page 5 for guidelines to completing this section)
Please attach additional pages if required.
________________________________________
Signature of Applicant
_____________________________
Date
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Guidelines for Completing the Applicant’s Proposed Research Statement
Each research project and its related definition require different framing. Addressing the following questions should
prove advantageous.
1.
Define your research interest.
2.
Why does this research require an interdisciplinary approach?
3.
What are the conceptual and practical reasons for your choice of knowledge areas (disciplines) and
methodologies?
4.
State any relevant issues including your professional or other experience qualifications to undertake
interdisciplinary research.
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Departmental Expectations of the
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program Proposal
for Individuals
(To be completed by the Supervisor and Co-supervisor)
a) Suitability of Applicant
Please comment on the applicant’s ability to complete an individual interdisciplinary studies program (ie superior
academic record, areas in which a substantial background exists, etc.) [Graduate Manual, Eligibility and Admission
Requirements page 46, Proposal 2.b, page 46]
b) Rationale for Interdisciplinary program.
Please build on the applicant’s proposed research statement to provide a rationale for the need or advantage of this
as an interdisciplinary program. Please attach additional pages if required. [Graduate Manual, Proposal 2.a & d,
page 46]
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d)
Proposed Program Structure
To ensure that the applicant meets the requirements of both the home and conjoint departments, please complete
PART 1 (for Master’s applicants) or PART 2 (for Doctoral applicants) [Graduate Program Manual Proposal 2.d,
page 46]
PART 1. For Master’s Degree
Course Content
Usual Requirements of
Home Department
Usual Requirements of
Conjoint Department
Proposed Requirements
for this Application
Required course(s)
Research methods
course(s)
Thesis requirements
Other
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PART 2. For Doctoral Degree
Course Content
Usual Requirements of
Home Department
Usual Requirements of
Conjoint Department
Proposed Requirements
for this Application
Required course(s)
Research methods
course(s)
Written comprehensive
examination, if required
Candidacy requirements
Supervisory meetings
required
Thesis defense
requirements
Other
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January 2008
e) Supervision [Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 2.c page 46, Supervision and Examinations page 47]
Proposed Supervisor:
__________________________________
(from Home department/faculty)
Proposed Co-Supervisor:
___________________________________
(from Conjoint department/faculty)
Proposed Supervisory Committee: (check one of the following)
 Master’s:
will be named prior to defense
 Doctoral:
will be named within the first year of the start of the interdisciplinary program
 Supervisory Committee member names follow:
f) Examinations [Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 2.c, page 46, Supervision and Examinations, page 47]
Which department’s/faculty’s procedures will be followed for the Candidacy Examination (if Doctoral
proposal)? _________________________________
Which department’s/faculty’s procedures will be followed for the Final Oral Examination?
___________________________________________
Note: The chair of the candidacy examination and final oral examination must be from the department/faculty
whose procedures are being followed.
g) Timelines [Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 2.d, page 46]
When will the student begin the individual interdisciplinary studies program?
When do you expect the student to complete the coursework?
When do you expect the student to complete the written comprehensive examination, if required?
When do you expect the student to complete the candidacy examination (if a doctoral student)?
When do you expect the student to complete the final oral examination?
h) Funding Arrangements [Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 2.e, page 46]
What funding arrangements has the home department made?
How is the conjoint department assisting in funding the applicant?
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i) Other Related Information (if required) [Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 2.d, page 46]
j) Is the applicant a new admission?

Yes

No
If yes, please include a completed Application for Graduate Admission form and required admission documents.
[Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 3.a page 46]
Is the applicant currently actively enrolled in the home or conjoint department?

Yes

No If yes, please state which one ____________________ and attach a Recommendation
for Change of Category form signed by the Chair or the Graduate Program Coordinator for the home department
and the conjoint department. [Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 3.b pages 46-47]
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Signatures of Approval
[Graduate Program Manual, Proposal 2. Page 46]
Home Department:
Conjoint Department:
Name of Supervisor
Name of Co-supervisor
Signature of Supervisor
Signature of Co-supervisor
Name of Chair/Graduate Coordinator
Name of Chair/Graduate Coordinator
Signature of Chair/Graduate Coordinator
Signature of Chair/Graduate Coordinator
Date signed
Date signed
Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Approval

Approved

Refused
Comments/Clarification required:
Approved for Academic Term ______________ (Fall/Winter/Spring/Summer & year)
Signature of Associate Dean, FGSR
Date Signed
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January 2008