Although Penn has built a lengthy list of successful interdisciplinary majors over the last few decades, many of these programs' directors and chairmen still believe there is room for improvement.
Some program heads called lack of budget control and staffing power, as well as a dearth of space, some of the biggest challenges.
Philosophy, Politics and Economics Director Samuel Freeman described an interdisciplinary major as a way of "bringing together in one program various departments which address the same subject matter in their own distinctive way, giving students a knowledge in the various ways that different disciplines address the same subject matter."
But even though PPE has become one of Penn's top majors -- Freeman said it is about the ninth largest -- it still has to deal with the various challenges that being an interdisciplinary major often presents.
Freeman explained that he and his colleagues are "always dependent on the goodwill of the participating departments" since PPE itself does not have the power to tenure faculty, but instead shares faculty members with existing departments.
"You're in a position where you can't order anybody to do anything -- you have to request them to do it," Freeman said. "All these departments have their own agenda and duties and obligations to their specific major. It's extra work for everybody, really."
Women's Studies Co-Director Demi Kurz also pointed to the difficulty of faculty members being based in different departments, stressing the importance of joint appointments. Women's Studies classes are taught by professors from the English, Sociology and Communication departments, among others.
"Because we don't have joint appointments like some other women's studies programs around the country, we can't guarantee that certain courses will be offered certain semesters," she said. "We might want to create more depth in a certain area, but we can't just go to faculty members and say, 'You know, we want to build up this concentration here.'"
This problem stems from a "pressure to cover the whole field," which often results in faculty members teaching classes for their base departments that cannot be cross-listed with Women's Studies.
And even though Penn's theatre arts major has three full-time lecturers, it still faces staffing and space difficulties, according to Chairman Cary Mazer.
"The major has existed for 24 years now," he said. "We have had offices together for three years."
Part of the problem, Mazer said, is that interdisciplinary faculty members are often based in different departments, adding that "if there is not a shared office space, it is because people already have their offices in other buildings."
Mazer said that if interdisciplinary faculty members could be housed in the same building, it would mean they could brainstorm together and "wouldn't have to set up an appointment to see one another."
Comparative Literature Undergraduate Director Rita Barnard said that she has "been begging the dean for an office in the same building as our program for years," adding that lack of funding has also been a problem.
Barnard said that the program receives about $500 per year, which is far from adequate.
But despite such challenges, Barnard said she is pleased with the way that the program operates.
"While I would really like for us to have an office, a place to meet and more funds, I think there's something quite wonderful about being able to rely on the strengths of the college at large," she said. "The students who do best in comp lit are those who have very strong intellectual interests and can develop those in terms of their course selection."
Freeman also added that while there are some drawbacks to interdisciplinary programs, the majority of these problems are unavoidable.
"Of course it would be great to have control over faculty and budget," Freeman said. "On the other hand, I think that would defeat the purpose of it. It wouldn't really be an interdisciplinary program in that regard."
College Dean Rebecca Bushnell added that turning some of these programs into departments would not be possible, simply because of their nature.
"Departments are defined by scholarly disciplines. PPE is not itself a scholarly discipline," she said, adding that such majors instead combine several different disciplines.
Kurz agreed, adding that "the world is an interdisciplinary world. I think students get a lot of good skills in doing comparative work, in learning how to broaden their analysis of issues and learning how to think critically. I think there are a whole lot of assets to an interdisciplinary major."
