Duke’s approach to interdisciplinary inquiry lowers barriers to collaboration by connecting researchers across schools, fostering exchange of ideas, providing sequenced funding and facilitating partnerships among schools and interdisciplinary units.
By drawing on disciplinary depth, interdisciplinary strengths and commitment to engagement, Duke makes crucial research contributions in areas like neuroengineering, digital humanities, the impacts of climate change on human health, and the ethical and policy implications of AI, and convenes stakeholders in vital areas like health policy, energy transformation and climate finance.
The university’s approach to interdisciplinary education incorporates research and engagement, responding quickly to emerging intellectual configurations and leveraging the power of collaborative projects and near-peer mentoring. Duke offers a rich array of academic programs that cross traditional boundaries, build on its strength as an interdisciplinary research university, and emphasize partnerships with community organizations.
And Duke’s approach to interdisciplinary engagement and partnerships draws on a firm commitment to public scholarship and two-way exchanges with community, government, nonprofit and industry partners.
The Office of Interdisciplinary Studies supports the recruitment and retention of excellent interdisciplinary faculty, in part through seed grants for a mix of collaborative teams and solo investigators. These early-stage investments give scholars the chance to explore promising research avenues and assess the potential for more sustained inquiry. The office also provides mechanisms for faculty and graduate students to develop new courses, refine teaching strategies, and connect research, education and community engagement.
The university institutes, initiatives and centers (UICs) function as catalysts for interdisciplinary research, supporting and amplifying the many types of innovative scholarly endeavors that occur within and across departments and schools. Through working groups, interdisciplinary labs, projects and hubs, they serve as vital intellectual homes for large numbers of faculty and students who wish to pursue shared questions and issues with peers from other disciplines or to connect with external partners. See academic programs run by the UICs.
The Bass Connections program supports interdisciplinary research teams of faculty and students from all of Duke’s schools as they take on complex societal challenges. Through its facilitation of collaborative, problem-centered, interdisciplinary inquiry, the program serves as a cornerstone of Duke’s efforts to integrate research, education and community interaction. Most Bass Connections teams work with community partners, including nonprofits, school systems, hospitals, government agencies and private companies.