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As a faculty member at OCAD University, Toronto, I've been involved with the design of curricula in an interdisciplinary MDes program, Strategic Foresight and Innovation. There are other interdisciplinary programs as well, but these are carved out of the foundation of traditional faculties in Design, Liberal Studies (Arts and Sciences) and Art. In the interdisciplinary programs we have created courses in business and design thinking, human factors, systems theory and methods, research methodologies, foresight - and some of these are studio taught, with individual and team projects that learners propose according to their long-range interests associated with the goals of the program. An interdisciplinarian myself, I appreciate the fusion of course techniques into topical, project-oriented classes. Over the decades, this approach has been cyclic as well - some schools (design and otherwise) have innovated curricula toward currency and relevance, and then swing back to a more traditional disciplinary footing. I find it interesting that some frame the disciplines as vocational, perhaps because there are craft traditions associated with design. However, might it not be "vocational" to assume that design thinking generalists are needed for today's wicked problems? Does that not also make an assumption of the expected value of interdisciplinary thinkers in a difficult and internationalized marketplace of talent and fungible ideas and skills? We think about this with the MDes, because learners portfolio into the program and must demonstrate a longer-term problem-oriented commitment beyond that of career enhancement or business utility. I'm surprised that the list has not yet taken up discussion on John Maeda's plight at RISD. The recent faculty vote against his strategic plan http://www.projo.com/education/content/RISD_UNREST_03-02-11_2FMP4OQ_v28.1af6 c6d.html seemed to revolve around these kinds of decisions. I'm not insider this dispute by any means, but the article presents the faculty's case that Maeda's strategic direction moved away from the value of the core disciplines, and organized "new" interdisciplinary programs that were not designed by faculty themselves with their understanding of the core skill disciplines. A core argument for the no vote appears to relate directly to our discussion: "The plan emphasizes certain collaborative, interdisciplinary studies aimed at integrating the arts in emerging economic fields, such as health care and environmental sustainability studies. But much of the interdisciplinary study already under way at the college seems to be either “ignored or unsupported” by the administration, Sherman said. And faculty worry that enhancing certain interdisciplinary studies will come at the expense of well-established disciplines, Sherman said. He said departments currently have difficulty delivering their core courses in light of budgetary cuts imposed in 2008." Are other schools finding these dynamics at work in their strategic planning? Peter Jones, Ph.D. Senior Fellow, Strategic Innovation Lab Faculty, Strategic Foresight and Innovation OCAD University 205 Richmond Street West, Toronto, Canada M5V 1V6 http://designdialogues.com Mike, We've offered a transdisciplinary 'thinking and making' design program at the University of Texas at Austin since the early 1990s, and we are in the midst of re-evaluating and updating our approach to design education. Our faculty have backgrounds in graphic design, typography, photography, product design, political science, design criticism and architecture. Instead of courses called Graphic Design 101, we offer topic-driven classes such as Design Systems, Design and the Social Environment, and Design Theory and Method each taught through the particular focus of that faculty with the intent that the fundamental design skills learned can be applied in a variety of situations outside the bounds of any particular discipline. This places emphasis on design as a way of thinking and as a tool that can be applied to a broad range of contemporary issues which is perhaps equivalent to recent 'Design and...' programs. A capstone senior project allows students to operate across disciplinary boundaries and to choose the form of a final product that is most appropriate to the situation they are trying to 'make sense of.' At the moment, amongst other options, we are exploring ways to make stronger institutional connections to disciplines outside of our own design disciplines (computer science, business, engineering, etc.) to become more truly interdisciplinary and to take fuller advantage of being at a large research university. More detail can be found on our web site: http://www.finearts.utexas.edu/aah/design/featured_story.cfm http://www.finearts.utexas.edu/aah/design/index.cfm Riley Triggs Design Lecturer College of Fine Arts University of Texas at Austin