interdisciplinaire

Interdisciplinaire is a French adjective describing an approach, field, or program that integrates methods, theories, and data from two or more disciplines. The term comes from inter- meaning between or among, and discipline, in the sense of a branch of knowledge. In academic usage, it signals an effort to move beyond merely juxtaposing disciplines toward synthesis that yields new questions and insights.

Interdisciplinarity is often contrasted with multidisciplinarity or pluridisciplinarity, which gather multiple disciplines without deep integration. Interdisciplinary work seeks shared concepts, combined methodologies, and collaborative research questions that cross traditional boundaries. Transdisciplinarity adds non-academic actors and knowledge systems to the process, aiming for solutions that are not confined to scholarly discourse.

Applications appear in research, education, and professional practice. Examples include environmental studies, public health, urban planning, cognitive science, and climate policy, where complex problems require inputs from natural and social sciences, humanities, and beyond. In universities, interdisciplinaire programs may feature joint supervision, shared courses, and interdisciplinary theses; funding and evaluation often require cross-disciplinary teams and shared conceptual frameworks.

Challenges include epistemological differences, terminological barriers, and institutional incentives that favor single-discipline work. Benefits include innovation, a more comprehensive understanding of complex problems, and improved problem-solving capacity. The term is widely used in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada, and in French-language scholarship it is often paired with interdiscisciplinarité to refer to the broader concept. In English-language contexts, the analogous term is interdisciplinary or interdisciplinarity, with similar aims and debates.