Directory of IDS Doctoral Programs
The Association for Integrative Studies has long recognized the importance of providing surveys of interdisciplinary programs. In 1986, the AIS published Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Programs: A Directory. The second edition, edited by Alan F. Edwards, Jr, and published in 1996 by Copley Publishers, is still available. We now take advantage of the world-wide web to provide a survey of interdisciplinary PhD programs in the Liberal Arts in the United States. Whereas our previous undergraduate Directories provided brief descriptions of programs, in this Directory we provide links to the websites of all listed programs.
The Association for Integrative Studies hopes that this Directory
will aid prospective PhD students who desire an interdisciplinary
education. We also hope that the Directory will be useful to scholars
and administrators who wish to know if and where certain sorts of
interdisciplinary program exist.
The Association for Integrative Studies as an organization embraces
the study and practice of interdisciplinarity in all of its forms.
We had originally envisioned a Directory of all interdisciplinary
programs. We limit ourselves, at least in this first effort, to the
Liberal Arts, primarily because virtually all professional programs
possess interdisciplinary elements. We will explore ways of identifying "self-consciously
interdisciplinary" professional programs in the future. We also
hope to extend the geographical scope of this Directory, and investigate
whether certain types of Masters Degree programs can be included.
Guidelines
for Use of the Directory
The Scope of the
Directory
Criteria for
Inclusion in the Directory
Acknowledgements
Interdisciplinary PhD programs:
Interdisciplinary PhD programs are particularly common in certain
areas. We have striven to identify these. Note that programs
listed in one of these categories will generally not also be listed
in the more general categories that follow:
Natural Science Programs:
Exercise Science
Materials Science (includes
Ceramics and Wood; see also Polymer Science)
Polymer Science (see
also Textile Studies)
Social Science Programs:
Family Studies
Human Development (may
have Natural Science component)
Justice; Criminal Justice;
Law and Society
Natural and Social Science Programs:
Environmental
Studies
Neuroscience and Cognitive
Studies
Science and Technology
Studies
Nutrition
Textile Studies (see
also Polymer Science)
Marine Science
Social Science and Humanities Programs:
Area Studies
Studies of a particular
historical era
Women's Studies
Ethnic Studies; Studies
of a particular religion
Communications
International/
Global Studies
Cultural Studies
Many interdisciplinary programs do not fit within the categories
above. These have been classified as follows:
Natural Sciences (Programs
that span two or more Natural Science disciplines)
Applied Natural
Sciences (Programs that apply the insights of one or more Natural
Science disciplines to other disciplines)
Social Sciences (Programs
that span two or more Social Science disciplines)
Applied Social
Sciences (Programs that apply the insights of one or more Social
Science disciplines to other disciplines)
Humanities (Programs
that span two or more Humanities disciplines)
Applied Humanities (Programs
that apply the insights of one or more Humanities disciplines to
other disciplines)
Natural Science/Social
Science(Programs that span at least one Natural Science and at
least one Social Science discipline)
Natural Science/Humanities(Programs
that span at least one Natural Science and at least one Humanities
discipline)
Social Science/Humanities (Programs
that span at least one Humanities and at least one Social Science
discipline)
Natural Science/Social
Science/Humanities (Programs that span at least one Natural Science,
one Social Science, and one Humanities discipline)
Natural Science/Social
Science/Humanities/Self-designed (Programs that span at least
one Natural Science, one Social Science, one Humanities, and one
self-designed discipline)
Self-designed PhD
programs (Programs that allow students to develop a program that
spans two or more disciplines)
This directory was compiled and the supplementary text written by Dr. Rick Szostak of the University of Alberta. If you have questions or would like to have your program considered for inclusion in the AIS Directory of Interdisciplinary Doctoral programs, please contact AIS at aisorg@muohio.edu.
For even more helpful information, visit the "Ph.D. Resources" website put together by the University of Washington and the Pew Charitable Trust. This is a survival guide to doctoral graduate study which includes tips on selecting an advisor and committee, preparing for qualifying exams, publishing and writing the dissertation.