Initiating Interdisciplinary Projects: Finding Common Ground

Successful approaches to interdisciplinary projects depend on several key components. The first and foremost is to recognize commonality in purpose. In an educational setting, that is the student. As colleagues at a prominent university, we have been encouraged by the president of our university and the dean of our college to work collaboratively across our disciplines. Most of the interdisciplinary projects and scholarly activities undertaken by the authors cooperatively have involved supporting the educational mission of our institution. In fact, some of our more research-oriented projects have their roots in teaching techniques and instructional problems. And more importunately, successful and meaningful interdisciplinary collaboration cumulatively benefits students in the classroom. A second key component of interdisciplinary collaboration is to let go of rigidity of thought and process and find common ground. Lastly, a key component is institutional support. Institutional leadership should not only recognize but encourage interdisciplinary cooperation. In this paper, the authors review the strategies and rationales they have used in interdisciplinary activities. With creativity and a disciplined focus, the authors have found common ground in collaboration and objectives across disciplines. Although not always “politically” easy, an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and scholarship has often been preferable to other alternatives, and, in some cases, necessitated by circumstances. Recommendations will be shared for new faculty so their transition toward interdisciplinary collaborations will be successful.