Multidisciplinary studies have as their goal the education of individuals who can make contributions to academic disciplines or professional endeavors that would be less likely to be accomplished by individuals with a background in a single discipline.

Departments or faculty members may design a joint degree program, which will generally result in two degrees, or a multidisciplinary degree, which will generally result in a single degree which has a broader perspective than similar existing degrees. Such programs should meet challenges of new interdisciplinary knowledge and/or developments requiring new combinations of talent. In addition, such programs or degrees should enhance and not duplicate existing programs in the University.

Individual students with specific multidisciplinary interests that desire to pursue them at Case Western Reserve University and faculty members who wish to run pilots for joint degree programs or multidisciplinary degrees are encouraged to do so, even if no official joint or multidisciplinary degree program currently exists by organizing an individual joint degree or an individual multidisciplinary degree. Such degrees require faculty and departmental support.

Joint degree programs or multidisciplinary degree programs may be organized by the faculties, department chairs, and deans of individual Schools, Schools working in concert within the University, or by a School or Schools of the University in concert with another institution. Joint degree programs and multidisciplinary degrees, if they involve significant inter-school or inter-institution interaction, shall be approved through a petition to the Faculty Senate Graduate Committee.

If any degree to be granted has not been previously authorized by the Board of Trustees and the Ohio Board of Regents, then the information required to seek approval from the Board of Trustees and the Board of Regents must be included in the petition and the approval of both must be sought while implementing the program and prior to awarding the new degree.

Please download the full guidelines for the design and approval of both such programs and such individual degrees.