Our Core Mission

The modern workforce requires employees with skill sets and knowledge bases that span multiple disciplines; therefore, it is important to provide students with opportunities to gain higher education degrees that best prepare them for such careers. This not only requires coursework from multiple departments or colleges, but also specific coursework that focuses on integration of knowledge and critical thinking with an applied context. As the vision of Mississippi State University is to meet students where they are in terms of educational needs and requirements, there is a concerted effort to define and establish interdisciplinary academic programs to meet these needs. Such programs transcend traditional college and departmental structures; therefore, the College of Integrative Studies is focused on the development, facilitation, and governance of these initiatives with an inherent integrative approach.

Beyond acting as a unified location for development and facilitation of academic programs that incorporate multiple academic units, the College of Integrative Studies acts as an incubator for emerging interdisciplinary degree pathways, supporting innovative academic offerings and offering a space for new curricular ideas and approaches to take shape. The governance structure allows for shared governance of programs among colleges and departments while maintaining a defined framework for program administration. To this end, the College of Integrative Studies serves three primary functions: (1) facilitate integrative program development based on workforce needs, (2) foster and support collaboration among MSU departments, schools, and colleges to provide relevant and meaningful academic pathways, (3) act as an incubator for new and innovative academic initiatives that support the University mission and student interests.

Through these functions – collaboration, facilitation, and incubation – the College of Integrative Studies will make cross-college and cross-departmental academic program development and governance more efficient and transparent, while providing a more coherent and consistent mechanism for faculty involvement. This works directly with MSU’s mission, and will allow the flexibility to provide students with meaningful and applicable degrees to maximize their potential effectiveness and success in the workforce after graduation.