The MA in Interdisciplinary Studies is a flexible graduate program through which students develop Master’s-level expertise aligned with their personal and professional goals. Working closely with the program director, students design an individualized plan of study to address a complex, real-world problem or issue that extends beyond the scope of traditional disciplinary or professional programs. Students draw on graduate courses from two or more disciplines and then integrate insights and methods from these fields in a rigorous capstone project or Master’s thesis.
This degree serves students who seek intellectual enrichment or professional advancement outside rigid disciplinary or professional pathways. Whether you are mid-career and seeking to enhance your professional trajectory, continuing your education directly from an undergraduate degree, or pursuing a long-term passion for learning, the program offers exceptional versatility.
Students design a program that fits their interests and goals by choosing graduate classes from existing NKU graduate programs and, when appropriate, from the Greater Cincinnati Consortium. An introductory course prepares students for interdisciplinary study by building skills in integration, research design, and communication; a capstone or thesis project then brings these elements together in a sustained, culminating experience.
Graduates of the program are adept problem solvers, critical thinkers, effective communicators, and productive collaborators with experience in multiple fields of thought. They have used their MAIS degree to advance in their current careers, to facilitate career changes, and to achieve personal and civic goals. Employers often describe such graduates as “T-shaped professionals”: individuals with both breadth and depth of knowledge who can integrate ideas from diverse sources, innovate in complex environments, and understand problems from multiple perspectives.
MAIS graduates are capable of transdisciplinary thinking and of working with experts at a professional level within and beyond the academy. They will be able to:
Demonstrate transdisciplinary thinking by working with experts at a professional level within and beyond the academy
Design and complete an independent capstone or thesis in a selected field or problem space and can contribute new ideas or propose novel solutions.
Identify, evaluate, and situate their work within contemporary complex problems and engage collaboratively and critically with experts in their chosen fields and apply their integrated learning to real-world challenges