Integrated human studies is an emerging educational field that equips people with

knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is disti ...

and competencies across a range of disciplines to enable them to address the challenges facing

human beings Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

this century. It differs from other

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

educational initiatives in that its

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; plural, : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to ...

is purpose designed rather than simply an

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal ** Pan am ...

of existing disciplines.

Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff = 3,978 (Total Staff) , students = 22 ...

in Japan has offered a formal course in integrated human studies since 1992 when it reorganized its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and renamed it the Faculty of Integrated Human Studies. This was subsequently (in 2003) integrated with the Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies to create the new Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies. The

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

established the Center for Integrated Human Studies in early 2008. This centre brings together the

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...

s, arts and humanities to focus on the nature and future of humankind. Its fundamental concern is to promote human well-being at an individual, local and global level within a sustainable environment. Integration of disciplinary fields has arisen as a response to the "increasing

specialization Specialization or Specialized may refer to: Academia * Academic specialization, may be a course of study or major at an academic institution or may refer to the field in which a specialist practices * Specialty (medicine), a branch of medical ...

of niversitycourses to meet the demands of

technological progress Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scien ...

, economic growth and

vocational training Vocational education is education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understan ...

"Bruce, Neville
Abstract for World Universities Forum
(accessed August 14, 2008) resulting in the development of ever narrower fields of study at tertiary level. Proponents of integrated human studies believe that a broader, interdisciplinary approach is needed to enable future decision-makers to grasp the complexities of the issues facing humankind in the 21st century and craft workable solutions.

References

Humanities {{edu-stub