Interdisciplinary Cooperation and Collaboration …
405
1. Preliminary Proposal Letter of Intent (LOI); authorized by Provost to proceed to
the development stage of a formal proposal;
2. Development of new program proposal; submitted to the Vice Provost Academic
and Vice Provost University Planning;
3. Review/approval of new program proposal; by Department Council and Dean of
Arts, Academic Standards Committee review;
4. External peer review and site visit;
5. Submission to the Vice Provost Academic;
6. Review of the new program proposal by Academic Standards Committee;
7. Senate approval;
8. Provincial Quality Council approval; and,
9. Report to the Board of Governors.
As part of the process, the proposal went through the process of provinciallymandated curriculum mapping (Lennon 2014; Lennon and Frank 2014). After
approval, the first cohort of the EUS program entered in September 2012 and the
Department of Geography was renamed the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies.
The structural underpinnings of the program are based on the idea of a T-shaped
curriculum. The issue in many undergraduate interdisciplinary programs is that they
are focused on general education and/or allow for a high degree of individualization;
the rigour of these ‘quasi-self-directed’ approaches has been questioned (Newell
1992; Soule and Press 1998; Holley 2009). The idea of T-shaped expertise arose
in the 1990s in the field of computer technology (Heinemann 2009). Figuratively,
the horizontal crossbar represents an ability apply a set of skills that allow one to
communicate, understand and apply knowledge across fields outside one’s principal
area of expertise and to collaborate with those in those in different areas of expertise
(Fig. 1). The vertical dimension represents a depth of understanding and skill in a
specific field (such as communities and sustainability, or sustainable design). The goal
of shaping a T-shaped professional has been seen as important in the development and
delivery of a wide variety of discipline areas at universities (e.g., Bitner and Brown
2008; McIntosh and Taylor 2013; Bardecki 2015). Rather than focusing on solely
developing a breadth of knowledge, a T-shaped curriculum would provide problemsolving and research depth in one or more areas of expertise while incorporating that
overall breadth in the understanding of a range of other fields. A need for “metaexperts” to broker among different disciplinary experts and between experts and
non-experts has been noted as important in the development of sustainability (Brand
and Karvonen 2007). In addition, students possessing skills as both “specialists” and
“generalists” may be better able to adapt to the inevitable fluctuations in the job
market (Krozer 2005).
Vincent and Focht (2011) identify broadly-defined curriculum models in use in
university environment programs: one based in the natural sciences and focused on
the development of technical knowledge and research, and a second, centred in the
social sciences, focused on policy, governance and advocacy. The EUS program
exhibits more of the character of their third model: as one with an interdisciplinary-
405
1. Preliminary Proposal Letter of Intent (LOI); authorized by Provost to proceed to
the development stage of a formal proposal;
2. Development of new program proposal; submitted to the Vice Provost Academic
and Vice Provost University Planning;
3. Review/approval of new program proposal; by Department Council and Dean of
Arts, Academic Standards Committee review;
4. External peer review and site visit;
5. Submission to the Vice Provost Academic;
6. Review of the new program proposal by Academic Standards Committee;
7. Senate approval;
8. Provincial Quality Council approval; and,
9. Report to the Board of Governors.
As part of the process, the proposal went through the process of provinciallymandated curriculum mapping (Lennon 2014; Lennon and Frank 2014). After
approval, the first cohort of the EUS program entered in September 2012 and the
Department of Geography was renamed the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies.
The structural underpinnings of the program are based on the idea of a T-shaped
curriculum. The issue in many undergraduate interdisciplinary programs is that they
are focused on general education and/or allow for a high degree of individualization;
the rigour of these ‘quasi-self-directed’ approaches has been questioned (Newell
1992; Soule and Press 1998; Holley 2009). The idea of T-shaped expertise arose
in the 1990s in the field of computer technology (Heinemann 2009). Figuratively,
the horizontal crossbar represents an ability apply a set of skills that allow one to
communicate, understand and apply knowledge across fields outside one’s principal
area of expertise and to collaborate with those in those in different areas of expertise
(Fig. 1). The vertical dimension represents a depth of understanding and skill in a
specific field (such as communities and sustainability, or sustainable design). The goal
of shaping a T-shaped professional has been seen as important in the development and
delivery of a wide variety of discipline areas at universities (e.g., Bitner and Brown
2008; McIntosh and Taylor 2013; Bardecki 2015). Rather than focusing on solely
developing a breadth of knowledge, a T-shaped curriculum would provide problemsolving and research depth in one or more areas of expertise while incorporating that
overall breadth in the understanding of a range of other fields. A need for “metaexperts” to broker among different disciplinary experts and between experts and
non-experts has been noted as important in the development of sustainability (Brand
and Karvonen 2007). In addition, students possessing skills as both “specialists” and
“generalists” may be better able to adapt to the inevitable fluctuations in the job
market (Krozer 2005).
Vincent and Focht (2011) identify broadly-defined curriculum models in use in
university environment programs: one based in the natural sciences and focused on
the development of technical knowledge and research, and a second, centred in the
social sciences, focused on policy, governance and advocacy. The EUS program
exhibits more of the character of their third model: as one with an interdisciplinary-