ERIC Number: ED146864
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1977
Pages: 30
Abstractor: N/A
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The Promise of Interdisciplinarity and Its Problems. Ramapo Papers, Volume 1, Number 3.
Potter, George T.
The decision to pursue interdisciplinarity at Ramapo College was based on theory and on the conviction that the traditional departmental approaches were inadequate to provide for the liberal or general educational interests of a broad-based student body. Some of the problems encountered are that: (1) there is not campus-wide agreement about the meaning of interdisciplinarity; (2) there is no predetermined subject matter, established method, or national establishment, nor are there any unique analytical tools, as in a traditional discipline; (3) academic supervision strains the credibility and competence of the administrator; (4) much more time is required for preparation and presentation; and (5) effective programs are more costly. The fascination of graduate programs is a dilemma for advocates of interdisciplinarity, since the setting aside of the conventional wisdom about specialized graduate study creates an uneasiness in the educational establishment. The examples of undergraduate interdisciplinarity provided by other institutions, such as the University of Sussex, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, give interesting points of comparison, and may allow exchange of faculty members and ideas. (MSE)
Descriptors: College Faculty, Colleges, Curriculum Development, Educational Problems, Foreign Countries, Graduate Study, Higher Education, Interdisciplinary Approach, Program Evaluation, Special Degree Programs, Specialization, State Universities, Teacher Exchange Programs, Undergraduate Study
Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, NJ 07430 ($0.75)
Publication Type: Journal Articles
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Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Ramapo Coll. of New Jersey, Mahwah.
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