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Interdisciplinary Studies

The world’s problems are not divided neatly into disciplines, and we believe those who will someday solve those problems—and those currently tackling them—shouldn’t be limited to just one or two areas of study. Lehigh’s commitment to a personalized academic experience allows students to blend courses from traditionally separate fields, such as STEM and the humanities, into an education tailored to individual student interests and ambitions at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Through formalized programs across and within colleges, as well as individual course selections, collaboration with faculty and independent research projects, students work in a rich, real-world-focused interdisciplinary studies environment.

Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Programs Across Colleges

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Integrated Degree in Engineering, Arts and Science (IDEAS)

Jointly administered by the College of Arts and Sciences and the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, IDEAS is a four-year honors program focused on interdisciplinary arts, science and engineering that allows students to get a bachelor’s degree with heavy concentrations in both colleges. Learn more about IDEAS >

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Computer Science and Business (CSB)

The CSB Program is a demanding joint initiative between the College of Business and the Computer Science and Engineering department in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. The program’s focus on business and computer science results in a unique joint degree from both colleges. Learn more about CSB >

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Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE)

The demanding and state-of-the-art IBE Honors Program is a carefully planned integration of courses in business and engineering with additional requirements in mathematics, sciences, English and humanities. The program results in the Bachelor of Science in Integrated Business and Engineering, and some students pursue a 5-year dual-degree. Learn more about IBE >

Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences offers 13 interdisciplinary studies programs in areas as diverse as Health, Medicine, and Society; Africana Studies; Cognitive Science; Sustainable Development; and Asian Studies. Each unit has an independent identity, but you will often find them in close collaboration when it comes to curriculum, scholarship and hosting co-curricular events. Collectively these interdisciplinary arts and sciences programs offer a wide range of undergraduate minors and majors as well as graduate certificates and master’s degrees. Learn more about Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences >

Dual Degree Programs

The University’s five-year, two-degree programs enable a student to receive two bachelor degrees upon completion of five years of study. It is possible to arrange for a dual bachelor degree program even after studying at Lehigh for some time. Learn more about dual degree programs >

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Arts-Engineering

The Arts-Engineering program provides the student with an opportunity to experience the breadth of an arts education and simultaneously follow the focused curriculum of an engineering major. Learn more about Arts-Engineering >

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Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth and Environmental Sciences Program

This program is designed for students interested in combining programs in two departments: Civil & Environmental Engineering and Earth & Environmental Sciences, leading to two bachelor of science degrees, a civil and environmental engineering B.S. degree and a B.S. degree in earth and environmental sciences. Learn more about Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth and Environmental Sciences >

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Electrical Engineering and Engineering Physics

This dual-degree curriculum is particularly well suited for students seeking thorough preparation in the field of electronic device physics. It is a combination of the basic electrical engineering and engineering physics curricula. Students can also study towards a combination of the Bachelor of Science program in the College of Arts and Sciences with Electrical Engineering. Learn more about Electrical Engineering and Engineering Physics >

Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs

Lehigh’s commitment to research and teaching across traditional academic boundaries extends into several challenging and comprehensive interdisciplinary graduate programs.

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M.S. in Financial Engineering

The Lehigh MS in Financial Engineering (MFE) program is a cutting-edge, 30 credit-hour program designed to provide a strong education in advanced finance and quantitative financial analysis tools using key concepts from financial theory, applied mathematics, and engineering.
Learn more about M.S. in Financial Engineering >

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MBA Joint Degree

A joint MBA degree can give you a competitive edge in today’s business world. Lehigh offers two joint degree programs that partner the MBA with other top-ranked Lehigh programs: Engineering and Educational Leadership. Learn more about MBA Joint Degree >

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M.S. in Photonics

The M.S. in Photonics offers students a solid foundation in physics, electrical engineering, and materials science and engineering, as well as opportunities to perform basic and applied research at the frontier of optical communications and networking. Learn more about M.S. in Photonics >

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Technical Entrepreneurship

Lehigh's award-winning Technical Entrepreneurship Capstone (TE Capstone) program, formerly known as Integrated Product Development (IPD), gives juniors, seniors and graduate students in engineering, business, and the design arts the opportunity to work in interdisciplinary teams with industrial sponsors to design, fabricate and produce new products for a global economy. Learn more about Technical Entrepreneurship >

Interdisciplinary in Practice

Rigorous academic programs, an ideal student-to-faculty ratio and access to a variety of opportunities for interdisciplinary study provide the perfect environment for Lehigh students to create their own major, explore personal interests and pursue degrees in multiple fields such as applied science.

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Research & Impact

Kristen Mejia’s parents always told her stories about living in rural communities without access to clean water before emigrating to the United States. Kristen chose Lehigh’s IDEAS program with focuses on Environmental Engineering and Public Health. She signed on to help Professor Kristen Jellison with her research, which involves biosand filters for water purification. The filters are used in Honduras, Kristen’s father’s home country. “I need to do this,” Kristen recalls saying. “If it’s going to impact the communities that my father might have grown up in, I need to be a part of this.”

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Flexibility & Support

Ashleigh Thurston learned that changing your mind can create a whole new path of discovery. Ashleigh began her time at Lehigh certain she wanted to study business, but she soon realized it wasn’t for her. She instead combined Psychology, Entrepreneurship and Marketing, which has allowed her to be successful in other areas, she says, including in her role as a student athlete: “I’m very confident that I’ll walk away from Lehigh fully prepared and very strongly confident that I can go on and make things happen in life.”

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Interdisciplinary & Global Opportunities

In combining Business Information Systems, Engineering and Africana Studies, Freddy Coleman brought forth a world of opportunities. Among them: becoming a United Nations Youth Representative for an African NGO and speaking before the UN on its behalf. Lehigh is challenging, Freddy says, but “after you put all that time in to focus and make sure that you ace your exams and your classes, you’ll find that it’s very rewarding because most of the things that you’re learning there are very applicable to what you need to do in the real-life world.”