Interdisciplinarity and Curricular Coherence

One source of conflict in the design of general education programs is the question of how/if to connect the diverse goals of general education. Coherence is sometimes sought in terms of an appeal to one religious or cultural tradition, but such an approach limits the appreciation of multiple perspectives. An interdisciplinary general education can achieve diverse goals within a coherent structure.

· The discussion elsewhere has argued that interdisciplinarity is crucial to a variety of individual Gen Ed goals. It cannot be stressed too much that only interdisciplinarity can provide coherence to Gen Ed programs. The diverse goals outlined when addressing other aspects of Gen Ed can be tied together if students are shown how to integrate diverse insights and appreciate multiple perspectives. Students can also be provided with an overview of the scholarly enterprise.

· The development of integrative learning, applied learning, and civic engagement are analyzed separately in the DQP, which is necessary when dealing exclusively with disciplines, but interdisciplinary studies forms a natural bridge among those three (and other) sets of educational outcomes.