Essential Competencies for Interdisciplinary Graduate Education

• In Event: Achieving Professional Competence: Beyond Knowledge and Skill

Abstract

This exploratory study investigates how interdisciplinary graduate training is defined and operationalized, focusing specifically on graduate education supported by the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program at the National Science Foundation (NSF). Since its founding in 1998, IGERT has supported approximately 7,000 graduate students through nearly 300 grants to universities. It represents a substantial federal investment in graduate education, and its purposeful emphasis on interdisciplinary preparation across the disciplines typically funded by the NSF (i.e., mathematical, physical and social sciences, engineering) distinguishes it from other discipline-specific graduate experiences. This study investigates how a sample of IGERT projects design and provide interdisciplinary training by exploring a set of six underlying skills hypothesized as essential for interdisciplinary researchers.

Authors

• Beth Gamse, Abt Associates Inc.

• Lorelle Espinosa, American Council on Education

• Radha Roy, Abt Associates Inc.