Be Unique

Washington State University’s individual interdisciplinary doctoral degree is a unique program, designed by you, to meet your individual interests. While many universities offer interdisciplinary degrees, very few offer one that is individually designed and able to meet the distinct needs, interests, talents, and career goals of each person.

IIDP students work on a broad range of topics, bridging many disciplines, as highlighted by the research topics of current students (see below). In their Ph.D. studies, IIDP scholars have addressed many important problems facing society—problems that are too complicated for a single discipline, and must be tackled by successfully integrating the perspectives of multiple disciplines.

Students who have earned IIDP Ph.D. degrees have gone on to successful careers in academic research and administration as well as the public and private sector. See some examples HERE.

IIDP student Ashley Railey talks about the flexibility of the IIDP program

 

Current Student Research Topics and Combined Disciplines

 

Student	Disciplines	Research Topic
Ballav Aryal	Economics, Statistics, Environmental science	Exploring effects of climate change on renewable energy production when environment constraints are present
Daniel Bayly	Education, Human Development, Neuroscience	How normal/healthy expression of play contributes to normal development, how abnormal or inhibited play expression may contribute to abnormal development
Zoe Campbell	Global Animal Health, Sociology, Economics	Identifying determinants and impacts of Newcastle Disease Virus vaccine uptake at the small-holder household level
Richard Carson	Business Management & Operations; Political Science & Public Affairs; Sociology; Psychology	Organizational Development in the Public Sector
Susan Willliams (Nee Dunn)	Communication, Education - Teaching & Learning, Sociology	Interdisciplinary approach to the socially constructed concept of plus size and the effects of this categorization
David Larsen	Music, History, Education	Research into how social, cultural, and political forces on the west coast affected jazz composers.
Megan Nims	Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Geology	Interdisciplinary approach to fisheries ecology research, specifically questions of fish migration and provenance
Leonard Nderitu	Pathogenesis, Economics, Computational Science	Identifying the Anthrax hotspots, associated ecological factors, and population at risk in Kenya
Matthew Mietchen	Infectious Disease, Math/Statistics, Stochastic Systems	Control of diseases at the interface between different communities
Ashley Railey	Global Animal Health, Economics, Sociology	Identify and address critical control points along the foot and mouth disease supply chain
Taylor Rezvani	Education; Psychology; Zoology	Assessment of human learning and educational programs as applied to canine development, behavior, socialization, and training and the resulting effects on the human/canine relationship
Jing Sun	Apparel, Merchandising, Design & Textiles; Management, Information Systems & Entrepreneurship; Marketing & International Business; Hospitality Business Management	A study of the adoption decision making for and derived business value of apparel mobile commerce (m-commerce) from a company prospective