Upper Division Interdisciplinary Studios (UDIST) offer students the opportunity to re-engage with interdisciplinary learning alongside peers focused on different disciplines at a time when they have begun to master their chosen field of study. UDIST courses are a college-wide requirement and are taken in a student’s junior or senior year.

Coursework encourages combining modes of research and making from a variety of disciplines in order to raise questions, develop research techniques, create new work and solve problems in ways that would not have been possible through single disciplinary means. Collaboration is an important component of all courses.

UDIST courses support CCA's values and mission, ensuring students achieve the Interdisciplinarity College-Wide Learning Outcome: “Students adapt and apply skills, ideas, or methodologies gained in one situation/activity/discipline to new situations/activities/disciplines.”

In addition, UDIST courses must demonstrate that students have achieved the following UDIST-specific Learning Outcomes upon completion of the course:

Connections to Discipline

• Students see and describe connections across disciplinary perspectives from their primary discipline to other disciplines.

Interdisciplinary Transfer

• Students can adapt and apply studio skills gained in one situation to a new situation(s).

Collaboration/Project Contributions

• Students understand the importance of collaboration and are able to contribute to the team project.

Collaboration/Team Climate and Conflict

• Students learn how to navigate group dynamics for effective collaborative strategies.