School of Interdisciplinary Studies
TCU’s school of interdisciplinary studies (SIS) is committed to interdisciplinary approaches to address critical social issues of our day. Studies show that interdisciplinary studies, as a model of the liberal arts in action, is highly effective academic preparation for the 21st century workplace. SIS is an intellectual and innovative space that nurtures scholarship that examines race, gender, sexuality, class, equity, culture, and community in an intersectional framework. A pivotal site to advance inclusive excellence at TCU, SIS offers bachelor of arts and science degrees with undergraduate majors, minors and emphases in Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES), Women & Gender Studies (WGST), Interdisciplinary Inquiry (IINQ, a design your own major); African American and Africana Studies (AAAS), and Latinx Studies (LTNX). The IdeaFactory (IDEA) equips TCU and the community with the tools of human-centered design thinking, and University Life (UNLF) is a student success seminar for incoming TCU students.
The School of Interdisciplinary Studies is committed to establishing and evolving institutional frameworks that equitably incorporate the values, judgment, methods; and needs of people from historically disenfranchised communities.
School of Interdisciplinary Studies Degrees
The School of Interdisciplinary Studies administers programs that lead to the following baccalaureate degrees:
The Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in:
- Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies
- Interdisciplinary Studies
- Women & Gender Studies
The Bachelor of Science degrees with majors in:
- Interdisciplinary Studies
- Women & Gender Studies
School of Interdisciplinary Studies Minors
The School of Interdisciplinary Studies offers minors in:
- African American and Africana Studies
- Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies
- Latinx Studies
- Women & Gender Studies
School of Interdisciplinary Studies Emphases
The School of Interdisciplinary Inquiry offers emphases in:
- African American and Africana Studies
- Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies
- Women & Gender Studies
Interdisciplinary Inquiry, BA and BS
Interdisciplinary Inquiry offers students a way to “create their own major” when their academic interests extend beyond traditional disciplinary lines. Proposed interdisciplinary majors that appear designed to avoid particular required courses in established majors will not be approved.
Interested students should email IINQ@tcu.edu. After an initial consultation to determine the strength of the interdisciplinary interests, the associate dean will work with students to identify appropriate faculty to serve on their Faculty Supervisory Committee, which will consist of at least two relevant faculty members in different departments with one designated as chair and primary academic adviser. The student, with assistance from the committee, will propose a specific course of study, which will then be submitted to the associate dean for formal approval. This course of study will then serve to guide the student’s official degree plan. Programs of study involving coursework from outside the School of Interdisciplinary Studies must also be approved by the dean or associated dean of the school(s) or college(s) offering those courses.
In addition to the specific coursework to be completed, the student’s proposal must address each of the following:
1. Long-term educational and career goals.
2. Why these goals cannot be achieved within an existing departmental major or within a combination of a department major and minor and/or certificate.
3. How to integrate the courses the student has listed into a unified course of study; in other words, how to make your major more than just a series of courses in different departments.
To be eligible for the program, students must have earned a TCU GPA at or above 3.0 and have earned at least 24, but not more than 66, semester hours credit. The eligibility of incoming transfer students (who lack a TCU GPA) will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The proposed program of study must consist of a minimum of 36 semester hours chosen from at least two different academic disciplines; 24 of the hours must be upper-division (30000 or above).
· No more than 24 hours may be taken from a single academic discipline.
· A maximum of 6 hours of independent or directed study (or Junior Honors Seminar and Senior Honors Thesis) may be applied to the major. Students in the John V. Roach Honors College interested in pursuing departmental honors may, with the approval of the department chair, do so in one the departments making up their interdisciplinary course of study.
For both the B.A. and B.S. degrees, a minor is required. For the B.A. degree, 4th semester proficiency in a foreign language is required. For the B.S. degree, sufficient coursework of a quantitative nature must be included in the proposed course of study to justify the B.S. degree. The choice between the B.A. and B.S. degrees is to be determined by the nature of the proposed course of study, rather than any aversion to either foreign language or quantitative coursework and is subject to the approval of the associate dean.
No course applied to the major may also be applied to the minor.
For more information see sis.tcu.edu/about/interdisciplinary-inquiry/ or contact IINQ@tcu.edu