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Integrating Transdisciplinarity and Translational Concepts and Methods into Graduate Education

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Abstract

The “scientific revolution” that emerged in the mid-1900s transformed thinking about the nature of reality and ways of thinking about it. The current view is that because reality is complex, contextual and dynamically changing, it should be studied from as many perspectives as possible, using multiple theoretical frameworks, methods and settings. Further, the realization that narrow disciplinary research conducted in controlled conditions has not been effective in addressing complex problems like climate change, poverty or global security has catalyzed efforts to integrate and apply knowledge across disciplines and societal sectors. Such “transdisciplinary” approaches that link diverse researchers, practitioners and policy makers are improving scientific inquiry and its application to benefit society.

These radical changes in scientific thinking and problem-solving strategies have prompted recommendations to increase transdisciplinary training in higher education and professional development. This is difficult to achieve because university education has become increasingly fragmented into disciplines and sub-disciplines that are not well aligned with societal needs. In this chapter, we discuss the scientific foundation of transdisciplinarity and the benefits and challenges of integrating it into university education. We describe two examples of transdisciplinary university education: the Doctor of Public Health program at the University of California, Berkeley (USA), and the TdLab in Environmental System Science at ETH Zurich (Switzerland). We provide recommendations to advance transdisciplinarity in higher education and professional development.

If the world of working and living relies on collaboration, creativity, definition and framing of problems and if it requires dealing with uncertainty, change, and intelligence that is distributed across cultures, disciplines, and tools—then graduate programs should foster transdisciplinary competencies and mindsets that prepare students for having meaningful and productive lives in such a world.

(Derry and Fischer 2005, p. 4)

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The stakeholder workshop described here was conceptualized by Patricia Fry and Christian Pohl.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Linda Neuhauser

  2. Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, Bern, Switzerland

    Christian Pohl

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  1. Linda Neuhauser
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  2. Christian Pohl
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Correspondence to Linda Neuhauser .

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  1. Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom

    Paul Gibbs

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Neuhauser, L., Pohl, C. (2015). Integrating Transdisciplinarity and Translational Concepts and Methods into Graduate Education. In: Gibbs, P. (eds) Transdisciplinary Professional Learning and Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11590-0_8

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