Interdisciplinary Studies
An Education Beyond Boundaries
Through UNC Asheville’s interdisciplinary programs and courses, students are able to study topics that transcend traditional disciplines. These programs and courses formally recognize the importance of incorporating different disciplinary approaches and contributions in order to understand the challenging questions people face today. A Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies can be earned in one of four ways. Students can pursue a concentration in Arts and Markets, Global Studies, Law, Ethics, and Social Policy or they may design their own Individual Degree Concentration.
Interdisciplinary Courses
Students may pursue one of four concentrations: Arts & Markets, Global Studies, Law, Ethics, and Social Policy, or the Individual Degree Concentration, which provides the flexibility to build a degree around their unique academic interests.
Career Paths
A Bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from UNC Asheville prepares you for careers that don't fit neatly into a single box. By tailoring your degree across disciplines, you'll build the critical thinking, adaptability, and problem-solving skills employers seek in fields like education, healthcare, business, and public policy.
Experiential Learning
Interdisciplinary Studies is designed for students who want to forge their own path. Through hands-on learning, internships, and study abroad opportunities, you'll gain new perspectives, challenge your assumptions, and build experiences that prepare you for a world without boundaries.
Concentrations
Arts & Markets
The Arts and Markets concentration provides you with the knowledge and skills to connect your artistic abilities with business and successfully market, manage, and innovate your creative ideas into a career. This program is offered as a concentration for the Interdisciplinary Studies Degree or as a Minor.
Global Studies
Study international cultures, economies, and politics, and explore the challenges and opportunities facing the contemporary world from different disciplinary perspectives. Global Studies is offered as a concentration towards an Interdisciplinary Studies Degree or as a Minor.
Law, Ethics, & Social Policy
In the Law, Ethics, and Social Policy Concentration program, learn to critically evaluate ethical dilemmas, develop cultural competence, participate in public discourse, and make informed decisions.
Individual Degree Concentration
Individual Degree Concentration
Your interests don’t have to fit into a traditional major. With the Individual Degree Concentration, you’ll work with faculty mentors to create a personalized degree that brings together multiple disciplines around your passions and future goals. Whether you’re drawn to Prosthetics & Orthotics, Medical Anthropology, Theoretical Concepts and Philosophies, or something entirely your own, the possibilities are virtually limitless.
Where Curiosity Creates Opportunity:
The most meaningful solutions emerge when ideas come together. Interdisciplinary Studies empowers you to design an education that reflects your passions and prepares you to make an impact.
One of my professors used the term ‘serial obsessionist’ to describe his wide variety of interests. I think that term fits me well. I have been surprised by how many different things are really exciting for me to learn about, so I have had a hard time settling into any one path after graduation.
Experiential Learning
Experiential Learning
Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity
The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Program (URCAP) is central to the Interdisciplinary Studies experience. Working alongside faculty mentors, students design original research projects that span disciplines and culminate in publication or presentation on or off campus, with past topics ranging from child labor in the chocolate industry to race in contemporary Cuban art. The department also anchors the McCullough Fellows program, sending students into the field each summer for applied research on land use and environmental resiliency.
Experiential Learning
Experiential Learning
Study Abroad
Interdisciplinary Studies students are encouraged to become global citizens through UNC Asheville’s Study Abroad Program. As members of the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP), students can study at over 200 universities in more than 40 countries, with recent placements including Japan and Taiwan. For students concentrating in International Studies, a study abroad experience or an International Experiential Learning Project fulfills part of the concentration’s requirements.
Experiential Learning
Experiential Learning
Internship Opportunities
Interdisciplinary Studies students round out their coursework with internships or service-learning experiences during the summer or academic year, applying their interdisciplinary training to real-world settings. Paired with faculty mentorship, these placements help students test career directions across fields like government, business, humanitarian work, and the arts, translating a flexible, cross-disciplinary education into hands-on professional experience.
Clubs & Organizations
Clubs & Organizations
With 60+ student clubs and organizations, UNC Asheville makes room for every interest, belief, and background to find its place. For Interdisciplinary Studies majors, that range is an invitation: connect with people who already share your passions, and just as easily find yourself challenged by perspectives you hadn’t considered. It’s a college experience built not around one path, but around the many you choose to explore.
Related Programs
Ready for what's next?
The Interdisciplinary Studies major at UNC Asheville empowers you to explore diverse subjects, merge ideas from various fields, and discover unexpected connections that can shape the future. Our program is a gateway to a world of boundless possibilities, where you can delve into the intersection of art and science, business and sustainability, technology, and social impact.