Read biographies of alumni to understand how their career trajectories were influenced by their curricular or co-curricular choices.
Planning Your Course of Study
- Declaring a major or minor in Interdisciplinary Science
If you are interested in becoming an Interdisciplinary Science major or minor, visit IS Degree Requirements to:
- Review the Program Requirements Worksheet (Check Sheet) and Suggested Four-Year Schedule of courses to meet the requirements
- Complete the Major/Minor Declaration Statement
Selecting Courses
Courses offered in this program incorporate science, math, and technology in the context of health and the environment. To see a list of courses offered in the major and minor, click on the appropriate section below; track your progress using the Interdisciplinary Science program requirement worksheet/checklist for the year in which you declare. NOTE: Not all courses are offered every semester or every year. We have indicated the course rotations (spring or fall semester, or alternate years) and which components of the major it satisfies.
Identifying Courses
During registration, use the University Course Catalog to identify Interdisciplinary Science courses. Students are strongly encouraged to supplement the IS curriculum with courses in other areas of study, depending on interest and in consultation with academic advisors. For example, students have completed courses offered by Anthropology, Environmental Studies, Integrated Arts, History, Psychology, and Urban Studies.
Students can search in the University Course Catalog for courses that address these topics by keyword in title, title and description, and/or subject code (LSCI = Lang Science, LMTH = Lang Math, NFDS = Food Studies, UENV = Environmental Studies, PSAM = Parsons Art, Media, and Technology, NINT = International Affairs, EPMS = Environmental Policy and Sustainable Management, LPSY/NPSY = Psychology, LANT/NANT/GANT = Anthropology, UURB = Urban Studies, UGLB = Global Studies, LCST = Culture and Media Studies).
Some courses are offered only in the fall or spring semesters, others in alternate years. Students interested in knowing the frequency of specific course offerings can review Interdisciplinary Science courses offered in various terms at the University Course Catalog.
Courses in Related Programs That Connect to Science and Math
Majors and minors are encouraged to supplement the required curriculum with courses from other areas of study. Below are courses offered by other departments and schools that incorporate science, math, and technology in the context of culture, social justice, history, and sustainability. Courses numbered 4500 are open to undergraduate juniors and seniors. Courses numbered 5000 or higher are graduate-level and require permission of the instructor. Courses that have been popular in the past include the following:
PSAM 5860A Currents: Data Structures
PUDM 2700 Information Visualization (permission)
LANT 3041 Ape Cultures and Human Nature
LANT 6141 Apes and Anthropologists
NANT 3520 Media, Health, Culture, and Social Change
LLSJ 3505 Visualizing Data
LPSY 2042 Fundamentals of Cognitive Psychology
LPSY 2772 Culture, Ethnicity, and Mental Health
NPSY 3843 Health Psychology
LEDU 3961 HealthClass 2.0 Practicum
UENV 3425 Student Environmental Activism Seminar Practicum
UENV 4703 Social Justice and the Food System
UENV 3200 Spatial Thinking with GIS
UGLB 3716 Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice
LECO 2029 Economics of Disasters
LHIS 2221 Power and Biology: The Global South and the History of Science
LHIS 3027 From the Plague to AIDS and Beyond: Global Histories of Disease
GANT 6125 Anthropology of Bioethics and Biomedicine
NEPS 5001 Climate Change and Cities
NEPS 5006 Principles of Environmental Science (seniors only)
Courses in STEAMD (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math, and Design)
These courses are open to all students and can be found across many departments. Courses that have been popular in the past include the following:
LNGC 1XXX Biology, Art, and Social Justice
LINA 2040 The Art of Information
PSAM 5960 Bioart Studio
PSCE 3030 Color and Light
LMTH 2104 Visualizing Patterns and Space
LSCI 2031 Light and Color
LSCI 3045 Imaging Life
PUDM 2700 Information Visualization
LMTH 2105 Making Math and Art
LINA 3040 Arts and Neuroscience
PSCE 5003 Topic: Sustainable Design
PSCE 5035 Topic: Water
PGTE 5598 Data Visualization