Transdisciplinary Studies

Associate Provost and Director: Andrew Vosko
Website: https://www.cgu.edu/why-cgu/transdisciplinary-studies/
Email: transdisciplinary@cgu.edu
Phone: (909) 607-0724

Given the changing nature of graduate education and the increasingly complex problems requiring experts to collaborate across different disciplines, faculty established the Transdisciplinary Studies Program as a part of the graduate curriculum in 2004. The mission of the Transdisciplinary Studies Program is to 1) enable University scholars to collaborate and innovate around society’s most complex issues, and 2) offer students opportunities to construct, blend and transcend traditional academic fields so they may shape their individualized courses of study to extend beyond disciplinary boundaries. Here are a few of the Transdisciplinary pathways students can pursue at CGU:

Students, with the approval of their advisors, may select courses and work with faculty outside of their specific school or department.
Students may pursue dual degree programs, simultaneously completing two degrees in different schools or departments.
Students may also propose interfield degree programs that combine two disciplinary fields in one degree.
Students may take transdisciplinary courses in which multiple disciplines and fields of study are combined. Transdisciplinary (TNDY) courses are offered each semester and are open to all CGU students. Doctoral students admitted or readmitted in the Fall 2004 or later are required to complete the Transdisciplinary Course Requirement outlined in the Academic Policies - Doctoral Degree Regulations section of the Bulletin.

In addition to these pathways, the Transdisciplinary Studies Program offers a number of funding opportunities. Each year, the Transdisciplinary Studies Program awards up to five dissertation awards to PhD candidates. These awards recognize students who have embraced a cross-disciplinary, collaborative, and disciplinarily reflective research approach in developing a compelling and innovative project centered on a socially or culturally complex problem. Awards range from $3,000 to $10,000. The Transdisciplinary Studies Program also offers other funding opportunities to encourage and support innovative approaches to complex problem solving. For more information about the Transdisciplinary Studies Program’s funding opportunities please visit our webpage.

Finally, the Transdisciplinary Studies Program supports and hosts a number of programmatic intellectual community-building events and workshops. To learn more about the Transdisciplinary Studies Program, including its mission, values, funding, and intellectual community building efforts, please visit Transdisciplinary Studies at CGU.