Founding Chair Dr. Reneta Lansiquot, Co-Chair Dr. Sean MacDonald, and Professor Tamrah Cunningham presented at the 14th annual meeting of a national conference, Interdisciplinary & Individualized Major Programs (IMP) 2023, CUNY Graduate Center, March 15-17. Their panel presentation was titled “Interdisciplinary Studies at City Tech: Courses, minors, and game-based learning.” Here is the abstract of their talk: This panel presentation will spotlight interdisciplinary studies at CUNY New York City College of Technology (City Tech) through the lens of interdisciplinary courses, interdisciplinary minors, and the newly established Interdisciplinary Design Game-Based Learning Lab (ID GBL²). The presenters will discuss interdisciplinary learning outcomes, assessment, design game-based learning, and undergraduate research.

The theme of this year’s conference was The Future of Interdisciplinary and Individualized Studies: “The promotion of interdisciplinary and individualized learning is not new. Individualized and interdisciplinary forms of learning trace their roots to the progressive educational movements of the early 20th century. In the past few decades, higher education has increasingly adopted some of the characteristics of this progressive educational tradition by promoting connections between classroom learning and the ‘real’ world, by recognizing the importance of mentoring, and by breaking down some disciplinary silos. More recently, the rising cost of higher education and the upheavals of the pandemic have reinforced student interest in making their education meaningful and relevant to their lives and career ambitions, a goal many IMPs heartily endorse. In this context, what distinguishes IMPs from other academic programs? How can IMPs best navigate institutions that remain organized around disciplines? What challenges do IMPs face when promoting the learning goals of their students?”