Interdisciplinary Studies

Interdisciplinary study draws together insights and methods from more than one academic field, allowing students to richly connect different bodies of knowledge and different ways of asking questions about our world. Students enrolled in our film and visual narrative minor, for example, can choose from courses in literature and film, art and production, theatre, communication studies and computer science as they learn to understand and analyze modern storytelling from many perspectives. Students minoring in medieval and early modern studies take courses in history, literature and art, as they learn not only how different the era was from our own but also how much continuity there is between the medieval and modern worlds. In any interdisciplinary program, students will learn to think about the choices we make when we set out to study the world and about the benefits and insights we gain by asking questions from a variety of perspectives.

Interdisciplinary majors at Whitworth include American studies, art history, bioinformatics, human-computer interaction, international studies, peace studies, front-end design development, worship leadership and environmental studies. We offer minors in Asian studies, editing & publishing, environmental studies, film & visual narrative, Latin American studies, leadership, medieval & early modern studies, teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), U.S. cultural studies, visual communication, and women's & gender studies. Students with specialized interests may also create individually designed majors, working with faculty from more than one academic discipline to create a viable program of study. 

Interdisciplinary Majors

Individually Designed Majors, B.S. or B.A.

Students who wish to integrate related courses from a variety of academic disciplines have the option of declaring an individually designed major in lieu of choosing a departmental major. Students should complete the IDM application process after two semesters of full-time study at Whitworth, and no later than the end of their fifth semester of full-time study. Transfer students with higher than sophomore standing should apply in their first two full-time semesters at Whitworth. Students begin this process with their academic advisor (or first-year advisor if they do not have a departmental advisor yet).

The program must:

  • Contain work of an interdisciplinary nature
  • Include a minimum of 40 credits
  • Include a minimum of 12 credits of upper-division work
  • Equally distribute credits, including upper-division credits, among two or more departments (within a 10 percent margin)
  • Include a W course
  • Include an internship or capstone experience

While students can take up to 12 credits of Independent Study (IS) at Whitworth, no more than six can be built into IDM requirements. If IS credits are built into IDM requirements, students will be asked to describe the subject and nature of the IS in the application. No teaching assistantships are allowed to fulfill requirements. The IDM will not be approved as a substitute for existing disciplinary major or minor programs of study available within the catalog. An IDM will not be approved for strictly vocational education or preparatory programs such as pre-optometry or pre-pharmacy.

Interdisciplinary Minors