By most accounts, the position of German studies in the American academy is no longer secure. To a large extent, that is due to reasons beyond the control of individual faculty or departments, including the general crisis faced by the humanities and the diminished importance in the eyes of the public of literary criticism, a vital part of the…

For 12 hours at Arizona State University, a sold-out crowd of 3,000 people gave a group of famous scientists a pop-star welcome, cheering their remarks and lining up for autographs after a day full of discussion about black holes, string theory, and evolutionary biology. At a time when program cuts and faculty layoffs dominate the headlines of…

Philippe Bourgois, who has spent his career studying some of America's roughest neighborhoods and subcultures, got an unusually harsh welcome to his new hometown: Last May, during a trip to North Philly to make contact with some drug dealers, he got caught up in a police raid. The arrest was Bourgois's first, though hardly his first brush with…

The Vermont college has radically revamped its class structure to better prepare students for life beyond the lecture halls. The collegewide program, "Education in 3 Dimensions," centers on three main parts: life-skills workshops, an interdisciplinary core curriculum, and professional courses. Required courses make up all three…

Senior seminars established at St. Mary's College (Maryland) as capstone courses for majors are intended to offer an interdisciplinary perspective and enable students to demonstrate mastery of skills. Assignments typically include writing a major paper, conducting a research project, or leading a class discussion. (MSE)

Increasingly, college undergraduates are custom designing their courses of study and creating majors that allow them to combine often eclectic interests with career goals. In many cases, students' creations have had a lasting impact through development of new academic programs. Institutional arrangements for planning, advising, and monitoring…

A $13-million gift of William Gates III to the University of Washington has enabled establishment of the country's first department in molecular biotechnology, a combination of medicine and molecular biology to be practiced by researchers versed in a variety of fields, including computer science, computation, applied physics, and engineering. (MSE)

Discusses how professional schools, faced with a shortage of students and an increased demand for cross-disciplinary training, are teaming up to offer joint degrees. Examples include joint medical and business degrees, joint social work and law degrees, and joint medical and law degrees. (EV)

An interdisciplinary arts curriculum at Columbia College (Illinois) offers young arts professionals an opportunity to deepen creative exploration while preparing for administrative and teaching careers. The program offers collaborative teaching and classes that include students with many individual specialties. Five studio courses concentrate on…

Describes a program for graduate students at the University of Texas, which emphasizes development of written and oral communication skills, both when communicating with professional peers and with the lay public. The 13 interdisciplinary courses offered in the university's Professional Development Program are intended to turn out well-rounded…

Reports on controversy surrounding Portland (Oregon) State University's nationally renowned, interdisciplinary general education program. Critics feel the four-year curriculum, which focuses on learning processes rather than content, has resulted in a watered-down curriculum that doesn't teach enough writing, math, literature, science, art, and…

The new University of the Arts was created by the merger of the Philadelphia College of Art and the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts. An increasing interchange among art disciplines is seen, but each student must also take liberal arts courses. (MLW)

Afro-American studies have acquired academic legitimacy. Scholars say the question is no longer whether the field will survive, but how to incorporate Afro-American studies into the curriculum. There has been a revolution in social history because of the unorthodox methods that scholars used to conduct their research. (MLW)

The New Jersey Project: Integrating the Scholarship on Gender seeks to change fundamentally what and how students learn by incorporating issues of gender into college courses. University of Arizona students are required to complete a course that deals with issues of gender, race, or class. (MLW)

Describes a new undergraduate minor at Emory University (Georgia) that focuses on the causes and consequences of violence through interdisciplinary courses, campus programs, and community service. Undergraduates study the causes and consequences of violence from the viewpoints of more than a dozen disciplines. (DB)