Interdisciplinary Studies

The nationally recognized Interdisciplinary Studies major promotes the educational goals of Christian liberal arts learning, emphasizing the importance of becoming a whole human being who can integrate knowledge from various disciplines and express it with critical understanding, creative skill, and redemptive purpose. Students who become IDS majors complete their undergraduate education in an unconventional way, designing a unique “program of study” (POS). Each POS integrates selected coursework from various disciplines.

An IDS major must submit a final version of their unique POS that specifies upper-divisional course work from any two or three of the College’s existing academic majors. This POS must be approved by the IDS program director and IDS Faculty Committee. Once approval has been given, the POS may not be altered by the student without the express written approval of the IDS program director. The POS should be informed by the student’s “guiding directives,” which serve to clarify the rationale for the IDS major’s integrative work. These guiding directives are as follows:

1. examining a worthwhile "wicked problem",
2. asking a "vital question" pertaining to the problem, and
3. exploring a theme of "sticky ideas" related to the problem.

These guiding directives establish the basis for the student’s choice of courses in their POS. Courses selected for the POS must be thematically congruous and reflect the ideal of a coherent, integrated whole. The culmination of the IDS major’s POS will be the IDS research project, which will require the student to complete qualitative or quantitative research writing on a topic related to their specific POS. This final project will be presented to peers and evaluated by two faculty members knowledgeable about the topic. IDS majors focus their projects on key issues pertaining to the arts, social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences. Certificates such as HNGR are often included.

Interested students may apply to the IDS program after attaining 30 credit hours; no student may apply after the fourth week of the fourth semester prior to graduation. All applicants must complete a three-part application comprising an academic self-assessment, short-answer questions, a tentative POS with courses approved by faculty designates from each major represented, and three brief essays. The completed application will then be submitted to the IDS office coordinator in advance of the scheduled deadline (which is two weeks before the end of each quad) with enough time to schedule a personal interview with the IDS program director before the deadline date. The application will then be evaluated by the IDS Faculty Committee, comprising the IDS director and 9-10 faculty members across the disciplines. Following a review of their application, students will be informed of their standing. Candidates should understand that the application process is rigorous, the IDS program is selective, and that they are only allowed to apply twice to the program.

Students who complete an Interdisciplinary Studies major are granted a Bachelor of Arts degree unless they request a Bachelor of Science degree and meet the following criteria:

• If the student chooses the two-discipline option, one of the disciplines must be in a field that offers a B.S. degree.
• If the student chooses the three-discipline option, two of the disciplines must be in a field that offers a B.S. degree.

Director, Jeffry C. Davis
IDS Faculty Member, Robert Bishop

Interdisciplinary Studies Major Courses