Welcome

Finding effective solutions to the most pressing problems that confront us in the twenty-first century increasingly requires collaborative approaches that employ the tools, methods, and perspectives of individuals with varied expertise working together in interdisciplinary teams. So too, some of the most exciting frontiers of knowledge-creation are being explored by individual scholars who have intentionally mastered theories and methods outside of their original field of expertise, allowing for insights not accessible from the perspective of a single discipline.

The Graduate School’s Office of Interdisciplinary Initiatives, in cooperation with the Provost’s Interdisciplinary Team, is charged with leading the development of institutional policies and programs that enhance the University of Minnesota’s ability to foster interdisciplinary inquiry by graduate students and graduate faculty. We expect these initiatives to remove the remaining barriers to working effectively across disciplines, to significantly improve our ability to conduct interdisciplinary research, scholarship and creative work, and to provide unparalleled interdisciplinary graduate education and training.

Q&A During Strategic Planning Workshop

Mary Jo Kane, Director, Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, responds to questions during a workshop on strategic planning for interdisciplinary research centers and institutes offered on April 13. For the workshop video and to learn more…

Discovery Magazine 2008-09

Spotlight

Leading Through Collaboration

Interdisciplinary scholarship draws top talent, but working together takes a special kind of innovation. More...

Calls for Proposals

In order to seed new scholarly collaborations, the Graduate School has created a mechanism for appointing faculty and outside experts to “interdisciplinary graduate groups.” Proposals to form interdisciplinary graduate groups are considered on a rolling basis throughout the year.   More information…

Resources and Tools

Need a free meeting space for your interdiscipinary group?  More information...

In fall 2008 the Graduate School launched a new workshop series, "Visioning Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs". 

For more information and strategic planning resources...

Resource for Training Grant Evaluations.

Consortium on Fostering Interdisciplinary Inquiry Conference
November 2008