Which Interdisciplinary Programs and Colleges Are Part of GIDP at the University of Arizona?

The Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs (GIDPs) at the University of Arizona comprise 21 programs that cross departmental and college boundaries, supported by collaborative relationships among colleges across campus. The GIDP site describes these programs as places where "traditional disciplines interface," combining ideas, techniques, and expertise from established academic fields into new areas of teaching and research. The page does not list the 21 programs by name or enumerate the participating colleges, so use the site's program listings to confirm the current roster and each program's home colleges.

What the GIDP Structure Means

Programs, not departments

GIDPs are interdisciplinary graduate programs rather than single-department degree tracks. According to the site, the programs "transcend departmental boundaries" and facilitate teaching and research where traditional disciplines meet. That structure is the reason a single program can draw faculty and students from multiple colleges.

College collaboration

The site states that "collaborative relationships between colleges across campus and the 21 GIDPs" create opportunities for students. It does not name which colleges hold those relationships, so treat the college list as something to verify program by program rather than assume from the homepage.

Scale of the programs

The site's numbers section gives a sense of how large the GIDP community is:

These figures describe the GIDP community overall, not any individual program.

How to Find the Specific Programs and Colleges

The homepage does not publish a program-by-program list, so the practical route is through the site's navigation:

1. Open gidp.arizona.edu.
2. Use the main navigation to reach the program listings (the page's menu includes a "Graduate" section and main navigation links).
3. For each program you're considering, check its own page for participating faculty, departments, and colleges.
4. Confirm funding details directly with the program, since the 65% assistantship figure is an aggregate and does not guarantee funding in a specific program.

Expected result: a shortlist of programs relevant to your research area, each with its affiliated colleges and any program-specific funding information.

Common Pitfalls

• Assuming the 21 programs are all in one college. The site frames GIDPs as cross-college by design, so check affiliations per program.
• Reading the 65% funding figure as a per-student promise. It describes the share of all GIDP students funded through assistantships, not an offer to any individual applicant.
• Treating the homepage as a complete catalog. It provides the framing and the aggregate numbers; program names and college ties live in the program listings.

Background Worth Knowing

The site notes that GIDP founding directors recognized more than 60 years ago that this kind of research "cannot effectively be conducted within traditional disciplinary boundaries." That history explains why the programs are organized around interdisciplinary themes rather than departmental homes, and why the college relationships vary from program to program.