Rather than self-declaring a major, students in the Interdisciplinary Studies (IDST) program create a coherent, thematically-related program of their own design in addition to their Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree requirements.
Structure
The IDST program consists of 42 upper-level credits. These courses cannot be taken with Credit/D/Fail grading and students should select courses offered within the Faculty of Arts.
The 42 upper-level credits are divided between
Your primary focus area (18 credits) is generally a single subject code (e.g. HIST), but may include two closely-related codes from the same department (e.g. ASIA and CHIN).
Your secondary focus area (12 credits) can be from multiple subjects in the same category. For example, a student who chooses Social Sciences for their primary category can have a primary focus area of Sociology and have Geography and Political Science for their secondary focus area.
Your secondary category can also be from multiple subjects in the same category that is not identical to your primary category. To use the same example, a student who chooses Social Sciences for their primary category has Humanities for their secondary category with History and Philosophy.
*Students with an average above 75% may apply to modify the credit distribution within their primary category, increasing their primary focus area credit amount up to 24 credits with only 6 credits in their secondary focus area (maintaining the 30 credits in their primary category). Students who wish to appeal for this increase must explain how the additional primary focus area coursework contributes to their overall program without detracting from the interdisciplinarity the secondary focus area is intended to provide, especially in contrast to the existing majors associated with the disciplinary area in question.
Categories
B.A. disciplines and courses are classified into 3 categories; IDST students select one of these to be their primary category, and another for their secondary category. Below is a list of courses included, but not limited to the following, in each category.
- Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies (AMNE)
- Area studies (ASIA*, AFST, CDST, CENS, LAST, etc.)
- Art History (ARTH)
- First Nations and Indigenous Studies (FNIS, many FNEL courses)
- History (HIST, MDVL, etc.)
- Languages and Literary studies (CHIN*, ENGL, KORN*, FREN, SPAN, GERM, SWED, etc.)
- Philosophy (PHIL)
- Romance Studies (RMST)
*Asian Studies (including ASIA and Asian Language courses) are considered to share the same course code under the same category.
- Creative Writing (CRWR)
- Film Production (FIPR)
- Theatre (THTR)
- Visual Arts (VISA)
* Courses from existing interdisciplinary minors (ENSO, HESO, LASO) and others topically-related to your main theme will be considered in the context of the rest of your course selection.
Options
General Study option
Students choose 2 disciplines: one as their primary category and another as their secondary category. The course selection must adhere to the program structure. Most, if not all, courses should fall under the Faculty of Arts. Applications to the general study option do not need a prior discussion with either the IDST Program Chair or the Student Program Coordinator.
Primary category: Social Sciences
- Primary focus area: ECON
- Secondary focus area: FMST and SOCI
Secondary category: Humanities with ASIA and CHIN
Primary category: Humanities
- Primary focus area: ASIA/CHIN
- Secondary focus area: ACAM, GERM, and HIST
Secondary category: Creative and Performing Arts with CRWR
Thematic Study option
Students choose a main theme to focus their degree on rather than a single discipline. The course selection must contribute to the coherence of the focus of your study. As the IDST program leads to a B.A. degree, your theme should still have a focus on Arts-related topics. Both admission and program revision for a thematic study option are at the discretion of the IDST Program Chair. Applications to the thematic study option would need prior discussion with either the IDST Program Chair or the Student Program Coordinator.
The structure of a thematic study option is similar to that of a general study option, with a few changes
- Your primary category (30 credits) will come from courses about or related to your chosen theme/topic of interest.
- Your secondary category (12 credits) will come from a field or discipline unrelated to the primary category you have chosen
Theme title: Environmental policy
Primary category: ASIX, EDUC, FNIS, FRST, ANTH, URTH
Secondary category: CRWR, ENGL, RMST
Theme title: Storytelling
Primary category: ASTU, CRWR, ENGL, GRSJ, PSYC, THTR
Secondary category: FREN
Frequently Asked Questions
A maximum of 4 upper-level COMM/COMR courses are allowed under the Social Science category if your primary focus area is ECON/POLI.
We do not allow students to include their 1.5 credit COMM courses in their IDST program. Your B+MM courses will need to be electives, and cannot be built into the IDST program itself.
You must select a new course within the same category to fulfill your IDST program requirements by submitting a program revision form. If a course has a registration restriction, you should consult with the department offering the course (especially in the case of specialized seminars) and it is their decision to whether waive the registration restriction for you or not.
All course revisions are subject to the Program Chair's approval, and must continue to support your coherent program. IDST cannot guarantee registration in any courses, and selecting a course for your IDST program does not constitute grounds to override a department's or instructor's enrolment capacity.
Students must submit the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies' Enrolment of Undergraduate Students in a Graduate Course Form, with approval of the course instructor, and Arts Academic Advising.
Students are generally only granted permission to enroll in graduate courses if they've completed 75% (normally equivalent to 36 credits) of their 300- and 400-level degree and program requirements and attained a minimum overall average of 76% (B+) in your completed 300- and 400-level courses. You must have also completed any necessary course prerequisites.
The course instructor, Arts Academic Advising, and G+PS each have the right to refuse students' requests to enroll in graduate courses. Many graduate programs offer classes specifically tailored to their curriculum, and planning to include a course to your IDST program does not grant you the right to registration.
All courses you include in your IDST program should be at the undergraduate level, with any graduate courses to be added through the program revision form after your registration in them is approved.
You can include these courses in your IDST program, but registering in them requires the assent of the department offering the course. Many of these courses only have enough seats to meet the need of the department's honours students, and instructors and the departments have the right to refuse registration to other students.