This booklet was written within the framework of a Senior Fellow Comenius project (funded by NRO) aimed at designing a learning progression for interdisciplinarity in a disciplinary environment (Department of Biology at the Faculty of Sciences). This booklet serves as food for thought for those considering the value of thinking beyond one’s own discipline.

Interdisciplinarity is an increasingly popular term, especially in higher education, and it will most likely accompany you all throughout your studies and into your working life. For those who are not familiar with interdisciplinarity, the term is explained in detail in the booklet. To put it simply for now, in interdisciplinary studies two or more sources of knowledge (i.e. disciplines) are integrated to answer a complex question more holistically.

Read the complete booklet here.

For more information on how to use this booklet in your teaching, you can read the corresponding teacher’s guide filled with instructions.

Additional theory on interdisciplinarity

The educational book collection ‘Perspectives on Interdisciplinarity’ is available to all UU staff. Created by the institute for Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Amsterdam, this collection covers various aspects relevant to designing interdisciplinary education. For both novice and experienced interdisciplinary lecturers, the booklets can inspire you and take you further in terms of interdisciplinary theory, skills, work forms, forms of assessment or best practices. They are suitable booklets to use as reference works and to draw inspiration from.

The following booklets are available:

• An introduction to Interdisciplinary Research
• Designing Interdisciplinary Education – a practical handbook for university teachers
• Meaningful Assessment in Interdisciplinary Education – a practical handbook for university teachers
• Chapters in Interdisciplinary Research and Research Skills
• Academic Skills for Interdisciplinary Studies / Academische vaardigheden voor Interdisciplinaire Studies
• Interdisciplinary Learning Activities
• Wicked Philosophy – philosophy of science and vision development for complex problems
• Seeing the City – Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Study of the Urban