Focus on Interdisciplinary Scholarship

Many societal problems today are too complex to be sufficiently addressed by a single discipline. Groundbreaking knowledge creation is occurring at the intersection of academic disciplines. Northeastern is already engaged in some of these areas, and we are committed to discovering new areas of research.

Northeastern is building on the momentum generated by our existing collaborative research efforts and interdisciplinary endeavors in fields such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, sensing and imaging, and urban policy. We are well positioned to assume greater leadership in emerging fields that will have a substantive impact on the world.

Northeastern brings together excellent scholars from different disciplines to blend their expertise in order to create new knowledge. Strength in individual disciplines is at the root of interdisciplinary research on our campus, while collaboration across schools, colleges, and other institutions allows innovation to blossom and thrive here.

We will continue to nourish an intellectual culture where collaboration in research and scholarship is second nature. We will promote opportunities for working across disciplines, reward those who do it well, and celebrate our collective achievements.