Fostering collisions in interdisciplinary graduate education
Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education
ISSN: 2398-4686
Article publication date: 19 May 2020
Issue publication date: 17 July 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Using the lens of social physics, this study aims to examine how, if at all, one graduate training program fostered collisions or meaningful interactions, between students and faculty from different disciplinary backgrounds.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative, ethnographic case study methods.
Findings
The University of Maryland’s National Research Traineeship program fostered collisions between students and faculty from different disciplinary backgrounds by facilitating exploration, idea flow and engagement within an interdisciplinary scholarly community. These collisions generated productive opportunities for student learning, development and collaborations, but at times also produced non-generative outcomes.
Practical implications
This study names specific, strategic activities (e.g. regular research talks, physical space) that graduate programs can use to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations among students and faculty and considers the extent to which such activities contribute to organizational change.
Originality/value
This paper applies new theories (collisions and social physics) to understanding interdisciplinary collaboration and identifies aspects of graduate training programs that may be replicable in other institutional settings.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This article describes projects that have been funded by the National Science Foundation National Research Traineeship (NRT) program, grant NRT-DESE-1449815.
Citation
O’Meara, K. and Culpepper, D. (2020), "Fostering collisions in interdisciplinary graduate education", Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 163-180. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-08-2019-0068
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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