Founded in 1979, the Association for Integrative Studies is the professional association devoted to interdisciplinarity. Interdisciplinarity combines the insights of knowledge domains to produce a more comprehensive understanding of complex problems, issues, or questions ranging from comparison to fully realized integration. For its members and the higher education community in general, the Association:
Promotes the interchange of ideas among scholars, teachers, administrators, and the public regarding interdisciplinarity and integration;
Advocates best-practice techniques for interdisciplinary teaching;
Advocates best-practice techniques for interdisciplinary research;
Advances the exploration of key terms and seeks out new theoretical models essential to interdisciplinarity and integration;
Sustains the development of real-world applications of interdisciplinarity and integration;
Encourages high quality interdisciplinary curriculum development at both the undergraduate and graduate levels;
Sponsors the development of standards for interdisciplinary program accreditation;
Offers best-practice methods for assessing interdisciplinary programs and coursework;
Encourages the development of administrative structures, personnel policies, and financial models in higher education that support interdisciplinary teaching and research;
Promotes the scholarship of interdisciplinary and integrative teaching and learning;
Supports the development of strategies for strengthening the role of interdisciplinarity and integration within (and beyond) the Academy;
Documents the importance of interdisciplinary and integrative studies for higher education and society in general.
Though based in the United States, AIS has always had international participation. AIS actively encourages an international conversation on the subjects listed above. It is incorporated as a non-profit educational association in the State of Ohio.
AIS pursues its mission in a variety of ways, including:
An annual conference which encourages a range of presentations on any of the subjects listed above;
A journal that provides a forum for scholarly treatment of these subjects;
A newsletter and listserv that facilitate a less formal conversation, as well as providing information on events and programs of interest;
A website that provides a variety of resources. These resources include issues of its journal and newsletter, directories of interdisciplinary programs, lists of recommended publications in each of the areas listed above, and a refereed list of recommended course syllabi;
An elected board and staff that support these various activities.
AIS VISION
Interdisciplinarity will be an integral and durable component of both scholarly research and higher education. Integration of insights from different scholarly communities will be appreciated as a central component of the scholarly research and teaching enterprise. All students will learn how and why to integrate in general education coursework, in professional programs, and especially in interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate programs.
