Interdisciplinarity and Transdisciplinarity
The major challenges of our times – such as climate change, artificial intelligence and global crises – are not organized into distinct disciplines. Instead, they call for transdisciplinary and holistic solutions. With its seven faculties, UZH offers the broadest range of subjects in Switzerland – and therefore ideal opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange in teaching and study.
School for Transdisciplinary Studies
The School for Transdisciplinary Studies (STS) acts as a hub for promoting interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study and teaching at UZH. It offers courses to students from all faculties, supports instructors in the development and delivery of their teaching, and raises the profile of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches at UZH. The aim is to combine different perspectives and disciplines at UZH, to connect up scientific insights with knowledge from society, and to offer courses on real-world issues.
School for Transdisciplinary Studies
Equipping Students to Tackle the Grand Challenges
The interdisciplinary courses are the ideal complement to the study programs offered by the faculties, helping students put the subject they are studying into context, expand on it and build their personal networks. They also enable students to take a holistic approach to analyzing complex problems and the pressing issues of our time, and to devise innovative and creative solutions.
Courses on cross-cutting issues
The academic courses cover forward-looking cross-cutting topics such as the digital transformation, sustainable development, innovation and entrepreneurship, ethics, and citizen science and address current issues in the context of the grand challenges of our time.
STS: Inter-/Transdisciplinary Courses
Future Skills
The Future Skills courses complement the inter- and transdisciplinary courses with a focus on action and problem-solving and on the development of skills that are relevant to various fields and disciplines, regardless of the topic. The courses are often hands-on and teach students transversal skills and methods that can be applied in various contexts.
STS: Future Skills
Transdisciplinary study programs
The transdisciplinary minor programs “Digital Skills” and “Innovation & Entrepreneurship” complement the master’s study program by providing practical and future-oriented skills. They enable students to address complex issues in a holistic manner, thereby broadening their professional profile and opening up new career opportunities.
STS: Minor Digital Skills
STS: Minor Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Transdisciplinarity in the UZH Teaching Fund
Through the funding line transdisciplinary_innovation, the UZH Teaching Fund supports UZH professors who want to offer interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary modules for all students.
For Teaching Staff: UZH Teaching Fund transdisciplinary_innovation
UZH News: Cross-faculty lecture series on machine learning
UZH News: Innovation Courses for Students
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