Interdisciplinary Programs:
Best Practices and
Challenges
Marcia McDonald
Associate Provost
Belmont University
ANAC Summer Institute June 2007
Interdisciplinary Programs
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Honors Program
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Limited enrollment
Interdisciplinary core
sequence
Two tracks: Research,
Leadership
46 hours
Individualized majors
optional
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General Education
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All students
Interdisciplinary
seminar sequence (15
hours)
Distribution
requirements
45-55 hours
(distribution varies by
degree program)
Gen Ed Seminar Sequence
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First Year Seminar: topical; common book &
common syllabus; 1 faculty
Linked Cohort: 2 courses w/ linked
assignments, topics; 2 faculty; common student
enrollment
Junior Cornerstone: PBL; main discipline + 2
secondary disciplines; 1 faculty
Senior Capstone: major discipline + Gen ed
goals; 1 faculty
Best Practices & Challenges

Creating institutional arrangements that foster
interdisciplinary work in a disciplinary world
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Curriculum
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Administration
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Intellectual Inquiry & Social Networks
Best Practice: Curriculum
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Design interdisciplinary curriculum for
intellectual development
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Cultivate links between Gen Ed core and disciplines
Enable students to see meaning of core (not “get out
of the way”)
Offer faculty multiple ways to teach in core,
depending upon interest in interdisciplinary work
Best Practice: Administration

Solve logistical and career issues
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Comprehensive Gen Ed administrative structure
Course coordinators: recruit faculty, facilitate faculty
develop, mentor faculty
Tenure & Promotion asset--teaching in Gen Ed
Beginning 2004--New faculty positions specify Gen
Ed teaching
Scheduling: multiple formats
Best Practice: Intellectual
Inquiry and Social Networks

Promote Intellectual Inquiry
Within frameworks for courses, some
flexibility in course design
 Faculty development sessions connect
faculty across disciplines
 Students: significant research, writing, and
presentations in courses; code words:
“challenging,” “hardest course,” “really
interesting”

Best Practice: Social Networks

Foster Social Networks
Course Coordinators facilitate faculty links;
campus leadership opportunity
 Students in FYS groups for Orientation prior
to first class meeting; begin experiential
learning in Orientation

Challenges
Flexibility in course design=straying from
interdisciplinary frameworks
 Stipends for inaugural faculty will not last
forever
 Scheduling challenges=imbalance in
faculty participation
 Cultivating faculty leadership
 Using assessment data responsibly

Interdisciplinary Impact on
Disciplinary Institutions
Interdisciplinary work can influence new
program development
 New directions in current programs:
Study Abroad & Junior Cornerstones
 Adaptable pedagogies: PBL, Experiential
Learning

ANAC: Experimental Laboratory
A&S and Professional faculty--with their
ideas and questions--live more closely
together than at research institutions
 Common curricula, especially in Gen Ed,
can bring faculty together
 Students making connections between
Gen Ed & majors can influence class and
disciplinary dialogues
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Interdisciplinary Majors &
Minors
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Biochem/Molec Bio
Environmental Science
Pharmecutical Studies
I-Cord
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Neuroscience
Web Programming
Applied Discreet Math
Media Studies
(Convergence Media)
Political Economy
International Business
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Music Business
Entertainment Industry
Studies
International Economics
Classics
European Studies
Asian Studies
Religion and the Arts
Ethics minor
Writing minor