Abstract:
A changing environment forces institutions of higher learning to adapt to increasing demands for accountability, the production and application of new knowledge, and dwindling financial resources. Interdisciplinary programming provides one way to address these issues as well as meet evolving student and societal needs. This study explores the experiences of nursing and education faculty and administrators responsible for developing and maintaining an interdisciplinary doctoral program. A qualitative case study using interviews and document analysis was employed at a large, four-year, residential research institution. The core and supportive strategies critical to transformational change as identified by Eckel and Kezar (2003) served as the conceptual framework for this dissertation which addressed the following research questions: 1. What challenges do faculty and administrators face as they attempt to achieve interdisciplinary consensus as it relates to program objectives and curriculum? 2. What tactics facilitate development of an interdisciplinary academic program? 3. How do organizational norms, structures, and practices affect efforts to develop an interdisciplinary degree program?
