Interdisciplinary/Multidisciplinary Studies will allow students to explore a particular area of interest, theme, theory, concern, profession or topic from more than one perspective. Close, interdisciplinary examination will be the basis of both discovery and integration of interconnected ideas from different areas. Students will sharpen their skills in writing and research and critical reading and thinking, as, together with a faculty mentor, create a program to meet specific needs and goals.

Degree programs in Interdisciplinary/Multidisciplinary Studies offer students the opportunity to develop individualized degree plans based on their intellectual, professional, and personal interests. General program guidelines can be found on the “Program Details” tab, and students will work with an academic mentor to choose courses that meet the guidelines and address each student’s individual interests. Students can also work with their academic mentors to identify applicable transfer credit, prior college-level learning, and possible course equivalencies. Working with a mentor and using Empire State University’s educational planning process, students can develop a specialized concentration in Interdisciplinary/Multidisciplinary Studies by following the general program guidelines as well as any applicable concentration guidelines. Students may also develop their own concentrations.

For more information about general undergraduate degree requirements, please visit Earning an Undergraduate Degree.

For sample degree programs and other degree planning resources, please visit the Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies Degree Planning web page.

For more information about Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies, please visit the Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies web site.

Guidelines for an Associate of Science or Associate in Arts degree

Students will develop a concentration in multiple areas that combine around a well-explained problem, question, theme, or interdisciplinary field. Concentrations must have a title, in addition to the Area of Study in Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies.

Foundation #1: Foundations

• Learning Outcome: Students will be able to explain fundamental concepts and principles of at least two of the fields involved in the concentration, at least one of which must be a liberal arts and sciences field. These fields include The Arts (including visual, performing, or digital arts), Cultural Studies (including literature, communication, creative writing, expository writing, languages/linguistics, literature, philosophy religion), Historical Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences (including anthropology, economics, human development, political science, public affairs, sociology, or psychology), Natural Sciences (including biology, chemistry, environmental science, physical sciences) and Mathematics, but not professional disciplines such as Human Services, Educational Studies, or Business.

These fields include The Arts (including visual, performing, or digital arts), Cultural Studies (including literature, communication, creative writing, expository writing, languages/linguistics, literature, philosophy religion), Historical Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences (including anthropology, economics, human development, political science, public affairs, sociology, or psychology), Natural Sciences (including biology, chemistry, environmental science, physical sciences) and Mathematics, but not professional disciplines such as Human Services, Educational Studies, or Business.

These foundations will vary based on student interest and focus but are likely met through survey courses at the 1000-level with titles that might include words such as introduction/introductory, principles, exploring, foundations, or literacy, but may be a single subject that serves as a prerequisite to further study in that field. Examples include, but are not limited to: Introduction to Literature, Media and Visual Literacy, Introduction to Psychology, Biology I, Foundations of Anatomy and Physiology, Marketing Principles, or Statistics.

Foundation #2: Communication

• Learning Outcome: Students will be able to develop effective arguments in writing and speech, including demonstrating critical listening, reading and interpretation skills, in multiple contexts and through multiple strategies.

This guideline may be met by any course that meets the General Education category of Basic Communication, but most often is met through courses such as College Writing, Composition, Effective Academic Writing, or Public Speaking.

foundation #3: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

• Learning Outcome: Students will develop abilities in reading, writing, and evaluating information critically, i.e., with sustained attention to meaning, presentation, and argument.
• Learning Outcome: Students will build the capacity to identify and describe main ideas, underlying, assumptions, and valid conclusions.

These guidelines are most often met through courses that specifically deal with reasoning, such as Introduction to Critical Thinking, Introduction to Philosophy or Proposal Writing and Logical Argument.

foundation #4: Quantitative Literacy

• Learning Outcome: Students will be able to apply basic quantitative skills to the analysis and interpretation of real-world quantitative information to draw conclusions.
• Learning Outcome: Students will be able to apply and present quantitative information to support personal, professional, and societal goals.

These guidelines are most often met through any course meeting the General Education category of Mathematics. Courses include Statistics, Algebra, Contemporary Mathematics, Visualizing Math, The History of Math, and Discovering Math Across Generations.

foundation #5: Research Skills and Information and Digital Literacy

• Learning Outcome: Students will be able to apply information from a variety of media, including digital media, with an emphasis on scholarly sources.
• Learning Outcome: Students will be able to critically evaluate sources and reach well-reasoned conclusions, attributing sources appropriately, to effectively convey information.
• Learning Outcome: Students will be able to use digital tools to advance learning, as well as personal and professional development.

These guidelines may be met through courses that infuse digital research skills, such as Digital Literacy, or Media and Visual Literacy, or by courses that discuss the transformation of culture and society due to digital technologies, such as Communication through New Media, Digital Culture and Society, Ethics of Digital Art and Design, History and Theory of New Media or Digital Storytelling.

foundation #6: Social Responsibility

• Learning Outcome: Students will be able to engage in ethical reasoning and reflect on issues such as: democratic citizenship; diversity, such as gender, race, class, sexuality; social justice; and environmental sustainability, both locally and globally.

Courses to meet this guideline might include references to subjects such as ethics, diversity, equity and inclusion, or the environment in their titles and include titles such as Introduction to Ethics, Business Ethics, Media, Ethics and Law, Sex and Gender in Western Culture, Images of Women in Western Civilization, African American Literature, Environmental Studies, Social, Professional, and Ethical Issues in Computing or Sustainability and Agriculture.

All students at SUNY Empire are expected to demonstrate Breadth and Depth of Knowledge. Students may use Educational Planning as an integrating study or capstone in order to explore connections and patterns within their learning, including prior learning. They do this through the following guidelines:

Foundation #7: Building on Foundations

• Learning Outcome: Students will be able to apply learning in at least two of the fields involved in the concentration and a progression that builds on fundamental concepts and principles. This will be demonstrated through courses from at least the 2000 level in the foundation areas.

Foundation #8: Interconnections

• Learning Outcome: Students will be able to describe how their concentration combines two or more distinct disciplinary areas.
• Learning Outcome: Students will be able to identify connections and contrasts among two or more disparate approaches or perspectives, or multiple fields that combine to respond to a question, topic, or theme.

Students earning associate degrees must earn at least 8-12 credits in each of two areas, or 16-24 credits from three or more areas that come together to constitute a response to a well-explained problem, question, theme, or interdisciplinary field.

• Foundations: Students will be able to explain fundamental concepts and principles of at least two of the fields involved in the concentration, at least one of which must be a liberal arts and sciences field.
• Communication: Students will be able to develop effective arguments in writing and speech, including demonstrating critical listening, reading and interpretation skills, in multiple contexts and through multiple strategies.
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Students will develop abilities in reading, writing, and evaluating information critically, i.e., with sustained attention to meaning, presentation, and argument.
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Students will build the capacity to identify and describe main ideas, underlying, assumptions, and valid conclusions.
• Quantitative Literacy: Students will be able to apply basic quantitative skills to the analysis and interpretation of real-world quantitative information to draw conclusions.
• Quantitative Literacy: Students will be able to apply and present quantitative information to support personal, professional, and societal goals.
• Research Skills and Information and Digital Literacy: Students will be able to apply information from a variety of media, including digital media, with an emphasis on scholarly sources.
• Research Skills and Information and Digital Literacy: Students will be able to critically evaluate sources and reach well-reasoned conclusions, attributing sources appropriately, to effectively convey information.
• Research Skills and Information and Digital Literacy: Students will be able to use digital tools to advance learning, as well as personal and professional development.
• Social Responsibility: Students will be able to engage in ethical reasoning and reflect on issues such as: democratic citizenship; diversity, such as gender, race, class, sexuality; social justice; and environmental sustainability, both locally and globally.
• Building on Foundations: Students will be able to apply learning in at least two of the fields involved in the concentration and a progression that builds on fundamental concepts and principles. This will be demonstrated through courses from at least the 2000 level in the foundation areas.
• Interconnections: Students will be able to describe how their concentration combines two or more distinct disciplinary areas.
• Interconnections: Students will be able to identify connections and contrasts among two or more disparate approaches or perspectives, or multiple fields that combine to respond to a question, topic, or theme.