Transdisciplinary Leadership Program
Based on research and two years of development, the Transdisciplinary Leadership Program (TLP) empowers students to make connections across and between disciplines to solve challenging dilemmas with no easy answers.
Transdisciplinary learning best reflects the ways in which our students will engage in an increasingly connected and complex world, where ideas and problems are rarely approached alone or through a single lens. Rather than beginning from a discipline or subject, transdisciplinary learning begins with a complex, real-world issue that requires nuanced thinking and approaches. Students delve deep into the issue, recognizing and exploring different viewpoints, approaches, and impacts of it before diving into their own approach.
How does it work?
TLP is an innovative, application-based program for students in their senior year. The heart of the Transdisciplinary Leadership Program is a two-block course, which meets every other day for almost a full day, fulfilling semester credits within two different disciplines. In it, students explore the nuances and perspectives of a social issue and then respond to it in partnership with outside organizations. The 2023-2024 school year will offer two TLP courses: "The Future of Cities: Civic Tech, Data Science, and Design" will examine how cities are utilizing data, technology, and design to increase digital connectivity to respond to the needs of their citizens; and "Climate Justice: Science, Culture, and the Stories We Tell about Climate" will examine the scientific and cultural roots of climate change and explore how climate justice is a human rights and social justice issue.
“A liberal arts education must do more than cultivate intellectual curiosity. It must provide the tools necessary to navigate the world’s most challenging issues — and engage students directly in that work.”
KATRINA WENTZEL, ACADEMIC DEAN
