Interdisciplinary studies is an expanding, exciting academic area in which students study, conduct research, and do creative work in subject areas that span multiple traditional academic disciplines. It has developed out of recognition that responses to complex problems and challenges require a combination of the intellectual tools available from a wide range of academic disciplines. Students with interdisciplinary studies backgrounds are well-prepared for the fluidly changing realities of the professional world as well as future study in an ever more interdisciplinary academic arena.
The Interdisciplinary Studies Department provides a number of major, minor, and concentration programs for students interested in subjects that span multiple traditional academic disciplines. The growing list includes the following options:
- Self-designed interdisciplinary major of Liberal Studies
- Minors (18 credits) in African and African Diaspora Studies; Asian Studies; Ethnic Studies; and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
- Concentrations (15 credits) in Environmental and Sustainability Studies; Ethnic Studies; Global Studies; and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Some courses in these areas are offered by the Interdisciplinary Studies Department, while many other courses are offered in other departments across the university’s curriculum. Worcester State’s Student Planning platform allows students to search for all courses offered in a given semester in a specific program.
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Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery opens counter-culture exhibition “Off The Beaten Path”
The Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery opens Off The Beaten Path, a counter-culture, open-call art exhibition juried by artist Robb Sandagata. Off The Beaten Path features artwork that contains roots within underground culture, and that inspires a vast variety of topics and aesthetics that focus on the more non-traditional art practices that are not typically seen […]
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Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery opens two student art exhibits on May 2
A dual student art exhibition in the Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery open on May 2. The opening reception on May 2 will include live music from Worcester State University professor Carlos Odria. The two shows, which will feature concurrently, are the spring 2024 Student Thesis Art Exhibition, featuring senior student artists Libia Goncalves, Thomas Delaporta, […]
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University hosts expert Loretta Ross to explore academic freedom and difficult conversations
Worcester State University champions academic excellence in a diverse, student-centered environment that fosters scholarship, creativity, and global awareness. Given the current events here and abroad around topics of the First Amendment, human rights, politics, and race, difficult conversations are inevitable. In fulfillment of its mission, Worcester State University’s 2023-2024 lectures and programs included divergent points […]
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Worcester State students present “Eurydice” by Sarah Ruhl, a modern take on the classic myth
Worcester State University’s Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Department stages Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, which retells the myth of Orpheus from Eurydice’s perspective, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 25th in Fuller Theater, located on the second floor of the Helen G. Shaughnessy Administration Building. The show continues at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 26, and […]
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Worcester State community takes part in historic 2024 solar eclipse
A solar eclipse is generally thought to be a must-see phenomena, but it is rare that it is accessible to so many people. As millions flocked to hotspots across the nation to view this year’s solar eclipse on April 8, Worcester State University joined in the celebration of the historic astronomical event with an eclipse […]
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Psychology researchers explore intrinsic student motivation in new published paper
Intrinsic motivation, or motivation that comes from within oneself, has long been theorized to be related to one’s sense of satisfaction that different psychological needs are being fulfilled. After the switch to online learning following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, educators raised concerns about how to keep students motivated at a time when many […]
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Nursing students get real-world experience at free clinic
The sun wasn’t yet up when five Worcester State nursing students reported for duty at Remote Area Medical’s (RAM’s) free health clinic in Willimantic, Conn., at 4:45 a.m. on Saturday, March 2. The pop-up clinic, with all medical equipment transported to the Windham Middle School on a repurposed NASCAR truck, provided vision, dental, and medical […]
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Community leaders tackle housing justice at university summit
Worcester State University brought together community organizations, affordable housing advocates, housing experts, and city officials on March 12 for its first Housing Justice Summit. The event featured panel discussions, presentations, and a networking event that focused on issues surrounding the region’s housing crisis and resulting housing insecurity. The Commonwealth, like much of the rest of […]