Interdisciplinary Studies

Program Description

The interdisciplinary studies programs allow students to work with faculty in the design of a graduate curriculum tailored to their unique academic, creative and professional needs. Because of the unusual nature of these programs, they carry a number of special admission and programmatic limitations that are described in this section.

Degrees Offered - (M.I.S and Ph.D)

M.I.S. Interdisciplinary Studies

The MIS program allows students, in consultation with faculty, to combine the curricula of two or more programs to produce a hybrid.

1. Requirements

• 36 credits, comprehensive exam or one of three options:
  1. a professional paper
  2. three short critical papers and approved showing of creative work
  3. a paper accepted in a nationally recognized journal
• OR 30 credits, comprehensive exam and a thesis.

2. Admissions

M.I.S Application Materials and Deadline: Open deadline

Instructions for applying to the Graduate School are in the Applying for Admission section on this web site.

• GRE score with a test date that is within the past five years OR verifiable GRE scores if the test date is over five years old.
• The TOEFL, IELTS or MELAB are also required of international applicants and can substitute for the GRE.
• Note: the student must have developed a plan of study in consultation with their faculty committee before submitting an application.

3. Establishing a Program Committee

• All prospective applicants must first consult with the Dean of the Graduate School before beginning the application process.
• It is highly recommended that the applicant spend at least a term of enrollment at The University of Montana either as a non-degree graduate student or as a student admitted to an existing graduate degree program. Experience has shown that it is nearly impossible for a student to find members of a committee and negotiate a program of study from a distance.
• The student must seek out and identify a prospective graduate committee of at least 3 university faculty who are willing to serve. For the MIS, each discipline in the proposed interdisciplinary program will be represented.
• In consultation with the chair and other members of the committee, the applicant will articulate a clear set of goals for the program and a curriculum plan, listing each course the student will take in the degree program. For the MIS, this degree plan should strike a rough balance of work among the various disciplines represented.
• Half of the credits (excluding up to 10 semester credits for thesis or research courses) must be at the 500 or 600 level. No more than 6 credits at the 300 UG level may be used for the degree.

4. Additional Application Materials

Download the check list of material requirements for interdisciplinary studies programs.

Check List of Material Requirements for the Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies Program

PDF format | MS Word format

5. Admission Recommendation

• Before the committee members and the department chairs sign their approval of the student's curriculum, they must review all of the student's admission file, including transcripts, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, curriculum plan and personal narrative.
• The prospective graduate committee will be the student’s surrogate department and will meet and discuss the student's application materials and submit those materials and an admission recommendation to the Graduate School.

Ph.D. Individualized Interdisciplinary Program (IIP)

The IIP is not as focused on combining disciplines as the MIS program, but in allowing the student to bring forward a problem or series of problems to research. The student must seek out faculty with the resources and expertise to assist them in defining and executing the research goals and the skills and competencies (objectives) needed to reach those goals.

IIP Prospectus (.pdf)

1. Requirements

• 45 credits beyond the master's degree, comprehensive exam and a dissertation.

2. Admissions

Ph.D in Individualized Programs Application Deadlines:

• Fall - Complete application packet must be received by April 1.
• Spring - Complete application packet must be received by November 15.

Instructions for applying to the Graduate School are in the Applying for Admission section on this web site.

• Applicants to the IIP must have a master's degree or equivalent degree program of study that includes at least 30 credit hours of graduate work and a minimum GPA of 3.5.
• GRE scores with a test date that is within the past five years OR verifiable GRE scores if the test date is over five years old are acceptable.
• The TOEFL, IELTS or MELAB are also required of international applicants and can substitute for the GRE.
• Note: the student must have developed a plan of study in consultation with their faculty committee before submitting an application to the chair of their committee.

3. Establishing a Program Committee

• All prospective applicants must first consult with the Dean of the Graduate School before beginning the application process.
• It is highly recommended that the applicant spend at least a term of enrollment at The University of Montana either as a non-degree graduate student or as a student admitted to an existing graduate degree program. Experience has shown that it is nearly impossible for a student to find members of a committee and negotiate a program of study from a distance.
• The student must seek out and identify a prospective graduate committee of at least 5 university faculty who are willing to serve.
• All members of the doctoral IIP committee must hold a doctorate degree - one member must be from a doctoral program. The Dean of the Graduate School or the Dean's designee from a doctoral program will serve as an ex officio (non-voting) member of the committee.
• The chair of the student's committee will be the principal advisor throughout the program, and must be from a discipline that offers a graduate degree. Chairs must be proactive in keeping the collaborative function of the committee together; they serve as a student advocate and must be available for the student; and must clearly understand the IIP process as articulated in the IIP Faculty and Student Prospectus.
• Faculty do not officially become members of the student’s program committee until the student is admitted.
• Students must present to all proposed committee members GRE scores, transcripts, and letters of recommendation before faculty agree to serve.
• In consultation with the chair and other members of the committee, the applicant will articulate a clear set of goals for the program and a curriculum plan, listing each course the student will take in the degree program. The curriculum plan for the IIP will likely contain less enrollment in existing courses, but will have more independent study, internship, and research credits. Half of the credits (excluding up to 10 semester credits for dissertation or research courses) must be at the 500 or 600 level.
• The prospective IIP committee members will work with the student in developing a list of objectives, which are skills and competencies needed to meet the research or professional goals of the student. Along with each objective articulated will be an assessment plan that will be indicators of achieving the objective.
• The prospective IIP committee members will work with the student in developing the requirements for a comprehensive exam, including a time frame for when it fits into the student’s program.
• The student’s curriculum plan must include two seminars that may not be taken in the same semester:
  • IIP Seminar (2 credits) - Topical subjects selected by IIP students and faculty (to build an IIP cohort);
  • Campus Seminar (2 credits) - Offered by any graduate program on the UM - Missoula campus
• Applications must contain letters from faculty members that agreed to serve on the student’s committee. The letters include a statement about the value and rigor of the student’s proposal and willingness to participate in the collaborative effort.

4. Additional Application Materials

Download the check list of material requirements for interdisciplinary studies programs.

Check List of Material Requirements for the Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies Doctoral Program

PDF format | MS Word format

5. Admission Recommendation

• Before the committee members and the department chairs sign their approval of the student's curriculum, they must review all of the student's admission file, including transcripts, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, curriculum plan (that includes a list of objectives, an assessment for each objective, and description of the credits to be taken) and personal narrative (that also describes the significance of the research problem).
• The prospective graduate committee will be the student’s surrogate department and will meet and discuss the student's application materials and submit those materials and an admission recommendation to the Graduate School.
• A student is not eligible for the IIP if the applicant tried and failed to achieve admission or has been dismissed from a regular doctoral department or program at this university. Students wishing to transfer from an existing UM doctoral program will be considered on an individual basis, taking into account the spirit of this rule.
• An IIP admission committee will review the application and make a recommendation for admission to the Dean of the Graduate School. During the review of an application, the chair of a student’s proposed IIP program committee will meet with the IIP Admission Committee to discuss details of the student’s research problem(s) and academic plan.

Financial Assistance

Students in the interdisciplinary programs may apply for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship from the Dean of the Graduate School. Preference will be given to MIS and IIP students who have teaching as one of their goals.

For additional information about financial assistance, see the Money section on this web site.

Program Limitations

• More recognizable traditional degree programs may provide the opportunity to bridge over into other disciplines through electives.
• There may be interdisciplinary areas where the expertise and resource support is not available.
• The IIP is not a substitute for a disciplinary doctoral program not available at UM.