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A Rough Guide to Interdisciplinarity: Graduate Student Perspectives
Abstract
A widely held belief is that only through interdisciplinarity can academics effectively address today's complex ecological problems, because these problems demand cross-disciplinary efforts and specialized knowledge from natural and social scientists. Innovative interdisciplinary research and curricula have been created to train a new generation of scientists to engage with complex issues. It seems critical that those most affected by interdisciplinary education—doctoral students—provide feedback about such innovations. Without understanding students' experiences in interdisciplinary programs, faculty will not know whether they are “getting it right” for future generations of interdisciplinarians. From our experiences as doctoral students, we provide reflections and perspectives on the National Science Foundation–funded Urban Ecology IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship) Program at the University of Washington. We discuss the aspects of the program that provided the most beneficial interdisciplinary experiences, as well as those aspects that could be improved. We identify three stages of intellectual development, present questions encountered during each stage, and develop six core recommendations for interdisciplinary research and training programs.
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“Elle se pratique à travers la synthèse et l'adaptation des concepts impliquant une approche concertée des théories et des instruments méthodologiques en provenance de deux ou plusieurs disciplines (Graybill et al. 2006 : 757 ; Brazeau 1980 : 98).”
From Des Relations internationales aux Études internationales: Éléments de construction d’un champ de recherche et d’action interdisciplinaire (2009) · cites this paper as Graybill et al. 2006 : 757
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Research works printed but not linked: 17
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Cited by
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Teaching and Learning in Interdisciplinary Higher Education: A Systematic Review
Spelt, E. J. H., Biemans, H. J. A., Tobi, H., Luning, P. A., & Mulder, M. (2009) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-009-9113-z · Cited by 544
Forest, P., Tremblay, M., & Le Prestre, P. (2009) · Études internationales · doi:10.7202/038092ar · Cited by 8
Metadata
- Authors
- GRAYBILL, J. K., DOOLING, S., SHANDAS, V., WITHEY, J., GREVE, A., & SIMON, G. L.
- Affiliations
- Portland State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- GRAYBILL, JESSICA K.
- Venue
- BioScience
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2006
- Volume
- 56
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 757
- ISSN
- 0006-3568 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2173788928
- Cited by
- 148
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 11.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- BioScience (publishedVersion)
- PDXScholar (Portland State University) (submittedVersion)
- BioOne Complete (BioOne) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Washington
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration
- Social Sciences › Education › Doctoral Education Challenges and Solutions
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education
- Keywords
- interdisciplinarity, doctoral students, graduate education, interdisciplinary research training, student perceptions, intellectual development, environmental problems, interdisciplinary curriculum
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