What is The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies?
The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies is a framework that highlights Pratt’s commitment to interdisciplinary and integrative study. Courses, programs, and initiatives provide students opportunities to engage outside their departments and to customize their learning experience.
The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies highlights connectivities across disciplines and divisions, elucidates potential learning networks, and facilitates the curation of the overall interdisciplinary experience at Pratt.
A perpetually evolving nexus, The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies develops a nimble ecosystem of integrative/neodisciplinary offerings at the vanguard of higher education.
What kinds of programs fall under The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies umbrella?
The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies includes a number of set curricular offerings and is also constantly evolving. These offerings include:
- Independent Study: Independent Study provides opportunities for students to explore academic topics that are not covered in the established curriculum. An Independent Study is a for-credit course carried out under the supervision and mentorship of a faculty member. Independent Study projects take place outside of scheduled class hours and outside of the supervising faculty’s scheduled teaching load.
- Pratt Integrative Courses (PICs): The Pratt Integrative Courses are designed as interdisciplinary explorations of a wide range of possible content, putting into practice multiple ways of thinking and making. Students will acquire and integrate skills and competencies from both studio and general education classes, recombining them in novel and unexpected ways that test, challenge, and expand their creative/critical capacities.
- Interdisciplinary Minors: A minor is a cluster of courses that make up a coherent program of study. The minor requires depth in the subject, but is not as extensive a program as the major. Minors enable students to supplement their work within their chosen department with focused study in another field.
- Customized Minor: The Customized Minor provides opportunities for students to pursue a field of interest in the form of a minor that is not provided by the established curriculum. A customized Minor is a minimum 15-credit suite of courses. The content of the customized Minor must be sufficiently different from existing minors at Pratt and coherently propose a field of study that is adequately covered with the proposed courses.
Are there other initiatives within Fuse?
Yes! We also hold regular Fuse Salons—a mix of information session and general conversation about the meaning and relevance of interdisciplinary study and work. We also will launch and curate an innovative public programming series (Crossing the Lines) and regularly work with our colleagues in various departments and divisions to facilitate explorations on interdisciplinary creative practice and research. Again, we are constantly reflecting on our practice and expanding and transforming our offerings.
How can I get involved?
Where can I find information about these programs and initiatives? You may visit The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies website, which is nestled within the Academics page on the Pratt website, or our blog. You can also check us out on Instagram @center_for_interdisc_studies. And, of course, you can always contact us with any questions or queries.
Amir Parsa
Associate Provost for Interdisciplinary and Integrative Learning
Founding Director, The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies
Curator, Individualized Learning
aparsa@pratt.edu
Renae Govinda
Program Manager, The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies
rgovinda@pratt.edu