Introduction
What's New
The Organization
The Conference
AIS Publications
INTERDIS Email List
Connections
Feedback
Consultants
Doctoral Program Directory
Interdisciplinary Syllabi

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.