Interdisciplinary Studies (M.S. or M.A.)

Get broad training for career development.

The Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary studies is a unique program that blends multiple disciplines together to fit the student’s path. This means that the course selection is driven by the student’s interests and career goals. Interdisciplinary Studies invites you to explore an education that integrate experience, research and training from multiple paths.

The program prepares you to examine and solve complex problems as you draw on knowledge and skills from more than one academic field. You will learn to sift through information and produce a body of work that synthesizes multiple perspectives, arriving at a more comprehensive understanding of the important issues.

Come hone your skills and be industry ready with broad training & advanced research!

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Meet Your Graduate Academic Counselor

Eva Ruiz-Duvall, M.Ed., is here to help you navigate your degree in INSD and UNT at Frisco. From start to finish she has the tools and knowledge to help you apply, choose the right courses for you, and make sure you can finish on your schedule.

Email them at INSD@unt.edu

INSD Program Director

Billy C Roessler, Ph.D, leads the Interdisciplinary Studies program and will be your advisor during your studies at UNT. His extensive academic background in mathematical sciences and research focused on Interdisciplinary studies gives him the foundation to support each INSD student through their individual academic journey.

Email them at Billy.Roessler@unt.edu

What it's like

The M.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies offers you a high degree of flexibility in designing a program of study that cuts across disciplinary boundaries.

Applicants to the master’s program can adopt one of the two approaches—

A Self-styled plan: can be designed with existing courses from almost any graduate area of the university to address a particular intellectual interest not met by any specific degree program available.
A Recognized concentration: provides plans that are built around predefined interdisciplinary themes and may offer you more initial structure regarding the coursework.

The 30 Credit Hour degree requires:

primary Concentration - 12 to 18 hours.
Second Concentration - atleast 6 hours
Third concentration - 6 hours of Required Interdisciplinary Courses (INSD 5110 & INSD 5940)
Successful completion of INSD Capstone course.

Note:

You will choose two separate fields of study with at least 6 hours of credit in each field.
No more than 18 hours (including thesis and special problems courses) may be taken under any one course prefix or subject field.

Data Science concentration meets the challenge of turning data into action by providing students with the opportunity to enter a rapidly expanding job market.

The courses required for the applied data science concentration are listed below.

Applied Data Science Required Courses (15 Hours):

ADTA 5120 (3 hrs) Introdcution to Data Analytics
ADTA 5130 (3 hrs) Data Analytics 1
ADTA 5230 (3 hrs) Data Analytics 2
ADTA 5250 (3 hrs) Large Data Visualization
INSD 5940 Interdisciplinary Capstone Experience

The remaining 15 hours are distributed across two fields.
Students work with an advisor to identify appropriate and relevant supporting fields.

Digital Social Science concentration provides a cutting-edge combination of social science theory and methods with the foundations of data analytics.

The courses required for thedigital social science concentration are listed below.
Students work with an advisor to identify appropriate and relevant supporting fields such as anthropology, education, marketing, psychology, political science or sociology.

Social Science Required Courses (18 Hours):

INSD 5200 (3 hrs) - Digital Social Science
INSD 5210 (3 hrs) - Information Theory
INSD 5220 (3 hrs) - Digital Research Methods
Any 5000- or 6000-level social science course on a specific substantive topic
INSD 5110 (3 hrs) Interdisciplinary Research and Professional Development
INSD 5940 Interdisciplinary Capstone Experience

Electives: 12 hours

Students will work with the program advisor to identify courses among available courses in any INSD Concentration. These courses must be approved by the program coordinator and the department in which the courses are located.

Applied Analytics Concentration prepares you for various employment opportunities, such as data analyst, operations research analyst, quantitative marketing specialist, statistician, and more.
The MA or MS candidate must complete a minimum of 30 hours from Business Analytics, Economics, and a supporting quantitative or application area, or 24 hours of coursework and 6 hours of thesis if the student chooses to finish the program with a thesis option.

Business Analytics:A maximum of 12 hours from the College of Business are permitted.

DSCI 5210 (3 hrs) Model-Based Business Intelligence
DSCI 5240 (3 hrs) Data Mining & Machine Learning for Business
DSCI 5250 (3 hrs) Statistical Techniques in Simulation
DSCI 5260 (3 hrs) Business Process Analytics (may be used as a Capstone
DSCI 5320 (3 hrs) Quality Control
DSCI 5330 (3 hrs) Enterprise Applications of BI
DSCI 5340 (3 hrs) Predictive Analytics & Business Forecasting
DSCI 5350 (3 hrs) Big Data Analytics
DSCI 5360 (3 hrs) Data Visualization Analytics

Economics:Students who elect Economics as their primary area must take 6 of the following courses and pass the Econometrics exit exam.

ECON 5600 (3 hrs) Mathematical Economics
ECON 5640 (3 hrs) Multivariate Regression Analysis
ECON 5645 (3 hrs) Empirical Linear Modeling
ECON 5650 (3 hrs) Advanced Econometrics

Supporting Quantitative or Application Area:could include-

MATH 5350 (3 hrs) Markov Process
MATH 5810 (3 hrs) Probability & Statistics
MATH 5820 (3 hrs) Probability & Statistics
MSET 5040 (3 hrs) Analytical methods for Engineering Systems
PSCI 5320 (3 hrs) Quantitative Political Research Methods

Other courses might be drawn from Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Computer Science, Educational Psychology, Merchandising, Public Administration, etc.

The healthcare industry generates and stores massive amounts of data that must be managed and analyzed for decision-making. This concentration prepares graduates to assume leadership roles in the emerging discipline.
Students will develop a broad understanding of the various methods, software tools and topical expertise needed to discover meaningful patterns in health-related data and effectively communicate the implications.

Health Data Analytics-Students will take 12 credit hours from the following courses in health services administration, with INSD 5940 or HLSV 5940 taken during their final semester:

HLSV 5300 (3 hrs) Information Systems for Healthcare Management
HLSV 5400 (3 hrs) Health Delivery Systems
HLSV 5450 (3 hrs) Health Services Administration
HLSV 5940 HLSV Capstone
AGER 5840 Internship in Administration of Programs in Aging

Apllied Data Science->Students will take the following courses as part of their applied data science core:

ADTA 5120 (3 hrs)Introduction to Data Analytics
ADTA 5130 (3 hrs)Data Analytics I
ADTA 5230 (3 hrs) Data Analytics II
ADTA 5250 (3 hrs) Large Data Visualization

Electives-

Students will work with the program advisor to identify a specialization field. These courses must be approved by the program coordinator and the department in which the courses are located.

While several concentrations have been established as predefined options in the Interdisciplinary Studies program, the possibilities are virtually endless if you seek a tailor-made plan that meets your career goals and aspirations. Under a self-styled plan, you can design a program using existing courses from various disciplines (almost any graduate area of the university) to address your particular intellectual interest not met by any specific degree program.

The general requirements for a Self-styled program, as outlined under Admissions and Planning, include a 30-hour degree plan spanning a primary concentration & two Academic areas you choose:

Primary Concentration: 12-18 hours
Academic Area 1: 6 Required Hours
Academic Area 2: 6 Required Hours
INSD 5110Interdisciplinary Research and Professional Development
INSD 5940 Interdisciplinary Capstone Experience

Knowledge of at least one foreign language or an acceptable equivalent is required for the Master of Arts degree,but not for the Master of Science.

Electives:

Students will work with the program advisor to identify a specialization field. These courses must be approved by the program coordinator and the department in which the courses are located.

For further information about a Self-styled Interdisciplinary Studies option at UNT, please contact Interdisciplinary Studies Program Advisor.