Study On The Model Of Interdisciplinary Graduate Training In USA

The United States was the first country to develop interdisciplinary graduate education,and its training model has been systematized,normalized and developed in a more mature way.The study of the interdisciplinary graduate training model and its characteristics in the United States has great significance for the development of interdisciplinary education in China.Based on the two major theories of interdisciplinary graduate education,this study constructs the American interdisciplinary graduate education model from eight dimensions and demonstrates the model in detail from the practical level of universities with three typical interdisciplinary graduate education programs.Based on this,this study summarizes the experience of the interdisciplinary graduate training model in the United States and puts forward targeted countermeasure suggestions for the problems of interdisciplinary graduate training in China.Interdisciplinary graduate training is based on the theory of changing knowledge production patterns and the theory of educational ecosystems.The new knowledge production model of "contextualization,application and interdisciplinarity" requires interdisciplinary graduate training to be imperative.The interdisciplinary postgraduate training model built on the basis of the educational ecosystem of "wholeness,interaction,and interwovenness" is a coherent and integrated system in which all elements are mutually reinforcing.The United States interdisciplinary graduate training model is built on a combination of high-level training objectives,a structure that transcends disciplinary barriers,a cross-fertilization curriculum,interdisciplinary teaching methods,comprehensive project-based research training,multidisciplinary faculty,a coordinated management structure,and shared and integrated resource conditions.The systematic case studies further confirm the specific practices of this training model.The interdisciplinary characteristics of the Ph D in Education program at Harvard University mainly manifested in the interdisciplinary academic training objectives,intercollegiate organization,specialization around complex educational issues,interdisciplinary curriculum,and intercollegiate shared faculty.The interdisciplinary characteristics of the Urban Design and Planning Ph D program at University of Washington mainly manifested in the training objectives of cultivating problem-solving applied talents,the coordinated organization of the graduate school,the content of the curriculum with multidisciplinary resources,the multiple penetration and high standard of research training,the interdisciplinary integration of faculty,and the management and assessment to ensure the quality of interdisciplinary graduate training.The interdisciplinary characteristics of Computational and Mathematical Engineering Ph D program at Stanford University mainly manifested in the training objectives of cultivating innovative research talents,the independent organization,the depth and breadth of the curriculum,the high standard and project-based research training,the multidisciplinary background of the faculty,and the systematic funding system.The interdisciplinary graduate training model in the United States has the basic characteristics of interdisciplinarity,specialization and high integration.Compared with the interdisciplinary postgraduate training in the United States,there are certain problems in the initial practice in China,which are mainly manifested in the fact that the departmental orientation hinders the flow of interdisciplinary resources,the management system leads to fragmentation and isolation,the faculty strength is difficult to bring into play the synergistic effect of multiple disciplines,and the lack of a special assessment mechanism for the quality of interdisciplinary postgraduate training.In response to these problems,the improvement measures that can be adopted in China include innovating the organizational form of interdisciplinary graduate education,bringing into play the coordinating function of management departments,strengthening the construction of interdisciplinary faculty,and constructing the assessment and evaluation mechanism of interdisciplinary graduate students.