Letter from the Director

Welcome to Interdisciplinary Studies and thank you for your interest! This is an exciting program that allows you to create a self-designed professional major just for you. In our program, students learn to become leaders and expert problem solvers.

What is interdisciplinary studies? It starts with a very simple rationale: real world problems are complex and require innovative solutions that cross disciplines. Interdisciplinary studies is a program that allows you to straddle different worlds and break disciplinary boundaries. The COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example of a complex problem: a public health crisis that requires knowledge in science, communication skills, politics and economics.

What will you learn? Our curriculum is flexible and can accommodate students with varied interests and backgrounds. Unlike conventional majors, this major requires only three core courses; the rest consists of courses selected by students who work closely with me and other faculty one-to-one to determine the best plan for them. In addition to the self-designed track, we also offer four pre-designed specializations based on the strengths of our faculty:

• Health and Society
• Diversity Studies
• Sustainability and Environmental Studies
• Global Studies

These are all rapidly growing interdisciplinary fields and come with robust curricula here at Jefferson.

Where can interdisciplinary studies take you? Interdisciplinary studies is often seen as a liberal arts major that prepares students for a long-term academic career, but our program breaks that mold. Because of the major’s individualized nature, it is as professionally oriented as it is academically focused. You will find graduates of interdisciplinary studies employed in many different professions from program developers and health care professionals to teachers and lawyers. Interdisciplinary Studies graduates often play leadership roles because of their ability to communicate with experts from different fields and to see the bigger picture.

Once again, thank you for your interest in Interdisciplinary Studies. We look forward to meeting you and working with you. If you want to know more about our program or want a guided tour, please feel free to reach out. I’d love to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Guangzhi Huang, PhD
Director, Interdisciplinary Studies
[email protected]