School of Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies

Interdisciplinary StudiesBA/BS

Chart your own path. The Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS) program lets you combine nearly any major and minor to build a unique-to-you academic experience.

At a Glance

  • Work with an advisory team from different departments to create your program.
  • Complete a capstone project that serves as the culmination of your chosen path.
  • Turn your unique experience into real-world opportunities working with student organizations, faculty projects, and internships.

Your Experience, Your Way

Some ideas don’t fit neatly into a single major. Housed in Emerson’s School of Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies, the Interdisciplinary Studies BA/BS program is designed for students whose interests cross boundaries and whose questions require more than one perspective. With guidance from faculty mentors, you’ll design your own course of study around a central idea, theme, or problem, combining courses from multiple departments, to create a program that reflects your goals, interests, and ambitions.

In designing your own course of study, you’ll learn how to connect ideas across fields, conduct independent research, think critically, and approach complex challenges from multiple perspectives. The program’s flexibility, allows students to explore emerging topics and create unique majors that reflect the questions they want to pursue while remaining academically rigorous. Past students have combined disciplines to study topics such as global activism, art criticism, social change through performance, and multimedia storytelling.

In your junior and senior years, your focus shifts from exploration to execution. You’ll refine your area of study and develop a yearlong capstone project that brings your ideas to life. Some students produce films, launch ventures, conduct original research, write major creative works, or develop solutions to real-world problems. By graduation, you’ll leave with a self-designed body of work, experience managing a complex long-term project, close relationships with faculty mentors, and the ability to connect ideas across disciplines.

Learn How You Want

Every Interdisciplinary Studies major is unique, so the resources students use are unique too. You’ll have the flexibility to build the support system that your work requires, from faculty mentorship and research opportunities to entrepreneurial programs and creative facilities across campus.

  • Faculty Advisory Team: Work closely with faculty mentors from multiple disciplines to shape your curriculum and guide your capstone project.
  • Customized Curriculum Across Emerson: Combine courses from different departments to build a program of study around a question, challenge, or idea that matters to you.
  • Senior Capstone Project: Develop a yearlong project that brings together your chosen disciplines through original research, creative work, or problem-solving.
  • Research and Innovation Opportunities: Collaborate with faculty on research projects or pitch new ideas and ventures to organizations in your industry.
  • Work on major projects to add to your portfolio, like producing and writing films, musicals, or literature.
  • Work with student organizations and research groups, as well as help faculty with projects that align with your chosen path.
  • Recent graduates of the program have found work in fields like data analysis, marketing, public relations, entrepreneurship, and more.
Berklee Valencia Study music business, performance, music technology, and more at Berklee College of Music’s campus in Valencia, Spain. You’ll have access to state-of-the-art technology in the iconic Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, a landmark designed for professional-grade music production. Take courses taught by music industry leaders, use the most advanced recording and production technology, and immerse yourself in Valencia’s vibrant musical culture.
Cities & Citizenry: Negotiating the Spaces of Belonging in Athens, Greece Spend four weeks in Athens, Greece, studying philosophy, literature, and political theory in one of the world’s oldest cities. You’ll have the chance to engage in the local cultural and political scene, volunteer with refugee centers, and understand the intersection of culture and politics on a global scale.

Learn from All Disciplines

IDS faculty come from all departments, including the Marlboro Institute. Your advisors will come up with a team of faculty to guide your customized academic journey.

Lindsey Beck
Jon Honea
Nancy Lyons

Tour Emerson

Come see all Emerson has to offer. Learn about campus life and explore classrooms, residence halls, and creative spaces with our student ambassadors.

Apply to Emerson

On any given day, you’re creating something. You’re writing, performing, filming, designing, or building an idea from the ground up. Whatever it is, you care deeply about the work, and you want to see where it can take you.

Our Undergraduate Admission team is here to find the path that fits your goals, answer your questions, and prepare you for a life in the ever-evolving communication and arts industries. Learn more about applying to Emerson on our Application Process page.