Disciplinary Integration in Graduate Environmental and Natural Resources Education

In the context of environmental management and policy, disciplinary integration is an important component of problem analysis. Although the specific meanings of disciplinary integration are difficult to define, skillful integration requires an understanding of abstract concepts and hands-on experience with integrative processes. We suggest a two-part framework, consisting of substantive and process components, for graduate-level curricula in environmental/natural resources. The substantive components focus first on establishing a disciplinary foundation in descriptive and analytical approaches used in the social and ecological sciences. Once this foundation is established, confronting common and diverse epistemologies and ontologies across social and biophysical fields provides a means for understanding differences and building links among disparate disciplines. The process components focus on cognitive-analytical activities and interactive social dynamics built around integrating disciplinary approaches. These provide a necessary experience in integrative thinking and provide opportunities for building professional skills in integration. Further, they can provide a transformative experience for students' understanding of integrating social and biophysical perspectives in natural resource and environmental issues.