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What is the Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs (GIDP) at the University of Arizona?
The Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs (GIDP) is the University of Arizona's umbrella for graduate study that crosses traditional departmental lines. Rather than sitting inside a single department, each program combines faculty and methods from multiple fields, and the GIDP office coordinates the 21 programs as a group. The site frames this as research and teaching "where traditional disciplines interface"—work that doesn't fit neatly into one department's boundaries.
What the page says about scale and funding
The homepage's figures give a concrete sense of who the programs serve:
- About 400 graduate students are enrolled across the GIDPs.
- 65% of all GIDP students are funded through graduate assistantships.
- 59 campus departments have hired GIDP students as graduate assistants.
- GIDP degrees account for 8.5% of all doctoral degrees awarded.
For a prospective applicant, the assistantship numbers are the most useful signal: they suggest that funding, including teaching or research assistantships placed in host departments, is a normal part of the GIDP experience rather than an exception.
Who it suits
GIDP programs tend to fit students whose questions span fields—for example, someone who wants to combine environmental science with policy, or neuroscience with computation—and who need a home that isn't one department. The trade-off is that interdisciplinary programs depend on cooperation across colleges, so the student's experience can vary more by program than within a single department. A reader weighing this option should look at the specific program's faculty list and funding record, not just the umbrella figures.
A practical next step
Identify the one or two GIDP programs closest to your research interest, then check their faculty affiliations and recent graduate placements. Compare those against a single-department program in the same area; the interdisciplinary route is usually the better choice when your project genuinely needs two or more disciplines, and the more conventional route when a single department already covers the work.
How does applying to a GIDP differ from applying to a traditional departmental graduate program?
A GIDP application is still a University of Arizona graduate application, but it is organized around an interdisciplinary program rather than a single department. You choose the GIDP itself as your academic home, and your preparation, references and statement need to show why your question crosses departmental lines. A traditional departmental program typically admits you into a named department with a defined core curriculum, a single main advisor pool and teaching or research assistantships tied to that department's needs. The GIDP route is better suited to applicants whose topic genuinely spans fields and who can name faculty collaborators in more than one unit.
The practical differences to weigh:
- Fit and framing: A GIDP expects a proposal that explains the disciplines you are combining and why no single department covers it. A departmental application usually rewards depth within that field's established subareas.
- Advisor search: For a GIDP, identify potential mentors across campus before applying and confirm their willingness to supervise interdisciplinary work. For a department, a primary advisor or lab match is the central question.
- Funding: Funding structures vary by program and year; ask each program directly how assistantships, fellowships and tuition support are awarded rather than assuming parity with departmental offers.
- Coursework and milestones: GIDPs often build a core seminar plus electives drawn from participating departments, with committee members from several units. Departmental programs tend to have more prescriptive sequences and qualifying exams.
- Administrative home: GIDP students may have a home department for some purposes and the program for others; clarify who handles advising, progress reviews and dissertation paperwork.
The page describes GIDPs as transcending departmental boundaries and notes that 21 programs collaborate with colleges across campus, with 400 graduate students enrolled and 65% funded through graduate assistantships. Those figures describe the GIDP population as a whole, not a guarantee for any individual applicant.
A useful next step: shortlist two or three GIDPs and two or three departmental programs, then for each write one paragraph naming the faculty you would work with, the departments involved and the funding source you would pursue. If you cannot fill that paragraph for a GIDP, a departmental program is likely the stronger route. Compare the official program pages at Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs with the relevant department pages before drafting your statement.
What funding opportunities, such as graduate assistantships, are available to GIDP students?
The site states that 65% of all GIDP students are funded through Graduate Assistantships, and that 59 campus departments have hired GIDP students as Graduate Assistants. Those are the only funding figures given on the page; it does not list specific award amounts, eligibility rules or deadlines.
What this means in practice
- Assistantships are the main route shown. A prospective student can reasonably treat a Graduate Assistantship—usually a paid role tied to teaching or research in a host department—as the most common source of support. The 59-department figure suggests placements are spread across campus rather than concentrated in a few units.
- Funding is not automatic. The percentage describes students who are funded, not a guarantee for every admit. Ask each program directly how assistantship slots are assigned and whether they are decided at admission or later.
- Interdisciplinary status can widen the search. Because GIDP students are hired by departments outside their home program, it helps to identify two or three departments whose work overlaps your research and approach them early.
A useful next step
Before applying, email the GIDP program you are considering and ask three things: what share of last year's incoming cohort received an assistantship, which departments typically hire its students, and whether funding continues beyond the first year. Compare the answers across two or three programs—differences in guaranteed versus competitive support matter more than a single headline percentage.
For general context on how US graduate assistantships work, see Federal Student Aid; for the university's own graduate funding information, use the official graduate college pages linked from University of Arizona.
How do the 21 GIDPs connect students with faculty and departments across campus for interdisciplinary research?
The GIDPs connect students to faculty and departments by operating as cross-campus programs rather than single-department degrees. The page describes them as transcending departmental boundaries and facilitating teaching and research "where traditional disciplines interface," drawing on faculty and expertise from colleges across campus. It also reports that 59 campus departments have hired GIDP students as graduate assistants, which shows how placements and funding tie students to departments beyond their home program.
What that means in practice
- Shared faculty expertise: A student's research can combine methods and supervisors from several traditional fields instead of staying within one department.
- Cross-department hiring and funding: Graduate assistantships place GIDP students in departments across campus, creating working relationships with faculty outside the program.
- A campus-wide structure: The 21 programs are described as collaborating with colleges across the university, so interdisciplinary work is built into how the programs are organized.
A concrete scenario
A doctoral student interested in a topic that sits between two fields, such as computational methods applied to a social-science question, could use a GIDP to bring faculty from both areas into one committee or research plan. The practical next step is to contact the specific GIDP and ask which faculty across campus currently supervise or advise students in that area, then confirm how assistantship placements are arranged.
The main trade-off is fit: interdisciplinary programs offer breadth and access to multiple departments, but students should verify that the specific faculty they need are actively involved in their chosen program. For general guidance on interdisciplinary graduate study, see Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs.
Which GIDP program best fits my research interests if my work crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries?
The site cannot match you to a single program, because it presents the Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs as a group rather than describing individual program requirements. Its position is that interdisciplinary work is the point: the programs "transcend departmental boundaries" where traditional disciplines meet, and the page highlights 21 GIDPs, about 400 enrolled graduate students, and 59 campus departments that have hired GIDP students as graduate assistants. Choosing "the best fit" therefore means finding the specific program whose faculty and coursework sit at your intersection, not picking the broadest-sounding label.
A practical way to narrow it down
- Write your research question in one sentence, then list the two or three disciplines it genuinely draws on.
- Compare that list with the named GIDP programs. The program page is the starting point: Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs.
- For each plausible program, check who teaches in it and whether a faculty member works on your topic. A program is a fit only if there are at least two potential advisors across departments.
- Confirm the degree mechanics before committing: application route, coursework distribution, qualifying exam or dissertation committee rules, and funding. The page reports that 65% of GIDP students are funded through graduate assistantships, but individual program funding varies, so ask each program directly.
Example
Suppose your interest is how climate stress changes public health in desert cities. A single-department program may fit only half of that. Look for a GIDP that combines environmental science with public policy or health, then test it against step 3: are there faculty in both areas who supervise students? If yes, that program is a stronger fit than one that covers only the science.
Decision criteria
- Faculty depth: at least two faculty members, in different departments, whose work touches your question.
- Required coursework: whether the distribution requirements force you into relevant departments or just add breadth.
- Advisor availability and funding: assistantship placement is often arranged through a department, so ask how it works in practice.
- Degree outcome: check whether the program awards its own degree or works as a minor or track alongside a home department.
If two programs seem equally close, contact both graduate coordinators with your one-sentence research statement and ask which faculty are currently accepting students. That answer, more than any program description, will settle the choice.
What career or doctoral outcomes have GIDP graduates achieved after completing their degrees?
The page does not report specific career or doctoral outcomes for GIDP graduates. What it does provide is institutional context: about 400 graduate students are enrolled across the programs, 65% are funded through graduate assistantships, 59 campus departments have hired GIDP students as assistants, and GIDPs account for 8.5% of all doctoral degrees awarded at the university. Those figures describe scale and funding, not where alumni went afterward.
What to check instead
For a prospective student, the useful outcome evidence sits with each individual program rather than the umbrella site. Look for:
- Placement or alumni pages per program, listing job titles and employers.
- Dissertation titles and committee composition, which show whether graduates cross departments in ways employers value.
- Assistantship records, since the 59-department hiring figure suggests teaching and research experience spreads beyond a single field.
A concrete example: someone weighing a biosciences-adjacent interdisciplinary program should ask the program coordinator for the last five years of graduate placements, then compare those against a single-department program. Interdisciplinary training can widen the range of labs and industry roles you can apply to, but it can also make it harder to be identified with one hiring pipeline, so named placements matter more than the general claim of collaboration.
The University of Arizona's main graduate pages, University of Arizona, may route to program-level outcome data the GIDP homepage omits.
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