What is the difference between multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary education?

In multidisciplinary education, a topic or issue is approached from multiple disciplines or fields of study side by side. Each discipline contributes something, but without truly integrating the insights. Thus, a broader picture of an issue is painted, but each perspective remains largely isolated.

As a result, solutions proposed from different perspectives may contradict each other in practice. For example, an economically optimal solution to a housing problem may perhaps have ecologically irresponsible consequences.

Interdisciplinary education goes a step further: here, theories, methods and/or results from different disciplines are actively linked. Students learn to analyse complex issues that do not fit within one discipline. Interdisciplinarity is about combining multiple disciplinary perspectives on an issue to reach a deeper, integrated understanding.

Transdisciplinary education also involves knowledge from outside science, for example from concerned citizens, policymakers or civil society organisations. They bring not only experiential knowledge but also interests, norms and values. Together with these stakeholders, students and researchers search for solutions to urgent, often social issues. This creates new insights that are both scientifically and practically relevant.

Especially for major social challenges, such as climate change or health inequalities, this cooperation between disciplines and with society is essential to ensure that a proposed solution will also be supported by society.

What does inter- and transdisciplinary education mean for the lecturer?  

Inter- and transdisciplinary education requires from lecturers more than subject-matter expertise, but above all the ability to actively supervise integration, synthesis and collaboration and to live it out themselves. The lecturer supports students in making connections between disciplines, making underlying assumptions explicit, and dealing with epistemological differences. Teachers encourage them to approach issues from multiple perspectives and guide the process of bringing together diverse insights into new, coherent answers to complex social issues.

In transdisciplinary education, this role goes one step further. Here, one collaborates with partners outside the university such as citizens, policymakers or civil society organisations, and it is important that those involved are open to experiential knowledge, other values, and non-scientific forms of knowing. This requires sensitivity, reflective capacity and the ability to make tensions explicit and productive. Involved partners are not only experts or coaches, but also learners: someone who co-creates new knowledge together with students and external parties.

In addition, teachers guide group processes, facilitate safe and challenging learning environments, and help students shape their own learning process. In this type of education, lecturers are role models in dealing with complexity, uncertainty and difference. In this way, they contribute to an academic culture of curiosity, cooperation and community involvement.

What does interdisciplinary education mean for students?  

Inter- and transdisciplinary education challenges students to think beyond the boundaries of a single discipline and beyond the walls of the university. Students learn to approach complex issues from multiple perspectives, for example by combining insights from psychology, economics and biology. As a result, students develop a broader understanding of social or more fundamental scientific issues.

This type of education is not only about combining knowledge, but also about critical thinking, collaboration, and developing an open, reflective attitude. Students learn to question their own assumptions, make connections between disciplines, and arrive at innovative insights together. This integration is not a goal in itself, but a way to do justice to problems in their full complexity - and to contribute to solutions that are socially relevant.

Why inter- and transdisciplinary education?  

Research shows that students want to be well prepared for their future careers by working on complex issues. In doing so, they not only want to acquire academic knowledge, but also develop skills and attitudes such as collaborating with people from different fields and backgrounds, thinking creatively, dealing with uncertainty and developing a solution-oriented attitude (Brooks, R., Gupta, A., Jayadeva, S., & Abrahams, J., 2021). Moreover, many students feel responsible to society and need education that enables them to make a tangible impact. Universities are responding to this by increasingly implementing inter- and transdisciplinary (ITD) education initiatives and programmes. Universities are expected to play a key role both in conducting scientific research and in training a new generation of academic professionals. Training students who are committed to the common good and able to respond appropriately to the complex and often unpredictable challenges of a rapidly changing society.

In addition, we see a growing need for a strong connection between academia and the rest of society. Science, technology and innovation are increasingly seen as engines of social and economic progress, but also as potential enablers of undesirable, unsustainable or unjust developments. This requires future academics to learn to critically assess and reflect on the wider impact of their work.

Inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations in higher education 

Inter- and Transdsiciplinary (ITD) collaborations are a catalyst for new ideas, new approaches and solutions to contemporary complex problems. It is important to create an environment within ITD education where there is room for research, creativity and problem solving is encouraged. As a result, ITD education can inspire students and teachers to innovate. Innovations come, for example, from transdisciplinary research initiatives, where universities collaborate with government, industry and civil society organisations. An example is the Urban Mental Health (UMH) programme led by the UvA in collaboration with the Amsterdam UMC, working to better understand mental health problems in young people in an urban context.  

The future of ITD education 

Higher education has the responsibility to prepare students for an unpredictable and rapidly changing future. Stimulating developing skills such as collaboration, creativity, adaptability and open-mindedness in education is therefore becoming increasingly important. ITD education emphasises developing these skills by introducing students to, and integrating different perspectives, research methods and forms of knowledge. By implementing ITD education, universities can further strengthen their role as drivers of innovation and social change. Implementation of ITD education also enables them to be more than knowledge institutions; Universities thereby become places where students not only learn about the world, but at the same time actively contribute to a more equitable, sustainable and resilient future. 

Brooks, R., Gupta, A., Jayadeva, S., & Abrahams, J. (2021). Students’ views about the purpose of higher education: a comparative analysis of six European countries, Higher Education Research & Development, 40(7), 1375-1388