The Interdisciplinary Studies program 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 two approaches — either a self-styled plan or a recognized concentration.

Regardless of which approach you choose, all students will need to fill out the degree plan template and make sure it includes the following:

• Primary concentration - 12 to 18 hours
• Second concentration - at least six hours
• Third concentration - six hours of interdisciplinary courses (INSD 5110 and INSD 5940)
  • Complete the INSD 5940 capstone course in your final semester. Work with your academic counselor to ensure your enrollment in this course.
• Total of 30 graduate credit hours required to graduate
• Knowledge of a second language or "language tool" is required for the Master of Arts degree, but not for the Master of Science. This language proficiency can be proven by examination or with two years of college-level courses on your transcripts. You must name the language or “language tool” equivalent on the M.A. degree plan form and indicate when you satisfied that language requirement.
• As you choose courses from the UNT Graduate Catalog to include on your degree plan, be sure that you seek advice from your academic counselor and keep the following instructions in mind:
  • Take special care when considering courses that list prerequisites, and note that some courses or areas of study require faculty or departmental approval (e.g. applied music and art, psychology, history, etc.).
  • While you may take undergraduate courses (e.g. prerequisites), only graduate-level classes (5000-level courses or above) count toward a master’s degree.
  • No more than 12 hours may be drawn from courses offered by the G. Brint Ryan College of Business or the Department of Counseling, respectively.
• If you're considering earning a doctoral degree at UNT in the future, we strongly recommend that you list no more than the required 30 credit hours on your Interdisciplinary Studies plan. Any additional classes you take will still appear on your transcript, but they will not count toward an eventual doctoral degree plan at UNT.
• Students changing majors to Interdisciplinary Studies with nine graduate credit hours or more completed must submit an approved and signed degree plan to the Toulouse Graduate School before enrolling in courses as an Interdisciplinary Studies student.
• If necessary, changes in classes can be made by working with your academic counselor and submitting a degree plan update form. If changes are extensive, you may need to submit a new degree plan. Talk to your academic counselor if you wish to update your degree plan.

Explore the "Drafting and Submitting your Degree Plan" section to learn more about creating your degree plan. You also can contact our helpful program advisor if you need assistance completing your degree plan at insd@unt.edu.

With the help of your academic counselor, begin drafting your degree plan in your first semester using our degree plan template. You’re not required to submit your plan until you have completed nine hours of graduate credit, but starting early will ensure you make the most of your time and graduate quickly. No coursework is guaranteed to count toward degree completion until you have an approved degree plan on file with the Toulouse Graduate School.

If you plan on creating a self-styled degree plan, please begin familiarizing yourself with our 131 programs of graduate study to determine which academic areas will be the best fit for your interests. Refer back to the "Degree Plan Requirements" section for required courses and credit hours for each concentration you choose.

Once you’re finished drafting your degree plan, your academic counselor will review it and help you collect needed signatures. Then, they’ll submit your final degree plan on your behalf.

The INSD program requires the INSD 5940 capstone course in order to complete the INSD master's degree. We expect that your work will demonstrate interdisciplinary elements from each of your areas of academic discipline. For example, although we often think of portfolios in association with art, some students in non-artistic fields have compiled graduation portfolios that include papers they wrote in classes from all three of their academic fields. This collection of writings is usually "book ended" with an introduction and conclusion highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of their research and the things they learned throughout their master's program.

• See Graduation at the Toulouse Graduate School website for details and deadlines on the process of graduation at UNT.
• You must apply for graduation before or at the beginning of your last semester of classes to set things in motion for your graduation.
• Please note that there is an early application deadline at the beginning of each term.
• The Graduate School will check to ensure that you finished all the coursework on your degree plan and that you successfully completed your capstone course.