A message from the Associate Provost for Professional Education
Office of Graduate and Professional Education
Interdisciplinary education A competitive advantage for professional graduate education
John Sawyer
Many modern scientific breakthroughs
follow from interdisciplinary research.
In much the same vein, professions are
becoming increasingly interdisciplinary.
For example, innovations have sprung up
in the health care field, such as the Patient-Centered Medical Home movement which
coordinates multiple medically-related
disciplines around the patient so that each
practitioner is practicing at the top of his or
her license. Science-based industries create
teams of scientists, engineers, marketers and
manufacturers to develop and launch new
products. Science, history, business and art
are brought together for art and historic
preservation, and to enhance our understanding
of society, culture and history.
The University of Delaware, as a broad-based
research intensive institution, provides the
opportunity to build strong professional
programs across disciplines that meet
economic and societal needs in a manner
with which small teaching institutions cannot
compete. Pat Harker, in addressing UD
faculty noted that "Engineering thrives
because arts and sciences thrive: Engineering
is strong because they are around a strong
health sciences program." In that discussion
Dr. Harker suggested that departments
teaching outside their discipline may lead
to mediocrity, but that partnering with
other departments and colleges to provide
the breadth of skills that their students
need enhances quality. [REFERENCE NOTE]
This newsletter
provides just a few of the many
examples of excellence
derived from
interdisciplinary, cross-department and
cross-college efforts and partnerships.
The software engineering program emerged
as collaboration between the Department
of Computer Sciences and the Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
That collaboration began when the two
departments were in different colleges.
Interdisciplinary professional education is
not new at UD. The art conservation
program began in 1974 and represents a
"true marriage of art history,...studio art, and...chemistry." More recently the interdisciplinary
doctoral program in preservation
studies was developed through
collaborations across the university.
Not only can research doctoral programs
grow from professional master's focus, but
traditional doctoral studies can take on a
professional character, as they did in art
history with the recent launch of the Ph.D.
level curatorial track. As has been true of
sciences, Ph.D. studies in art history focus
on academe. The curatorial track was created
with the realization that traditional
art history doctoral graduates frequently
take leadership positions in institutions
outside academe, and may not be well prepared
for the demands of managing and
directing an art institution. The curatorial
track draws on curriculum from outside
traditional art history education to provide
those necessary skills.
There is no question that interdisciplinary
programs will form an integral part of the
fabric of UD's future. One aspect of this
future is materializing before our eyes as the
Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering
Laboratory (ISE-Lab) takes shape on
campus. With its spaces designed to blur
the lines between research and instruction
as well as between disciplines, the ISE-Lab
will locate diverse students, experts and
researchers all in one place where they will
have the opportunity to collaborate like
never before and serve as a model for
interdisciplinary education at UD.
The examples presented in this newsletter
represent just a small sampling of the ways
that collaboration across disciplines,
departments, colleges and programs at UD
enriches our understanding, enhances the
preparation of our students, and advances
our ability to impact our world.
