Welcome To the Graduate College
The Graduate College is a community comprised of Graduate Scholars and Senior Scholars selected from all Faculties on campus, and strive to connect, enrich and energise the various communities we serve.
What is the Graduate College?
The Graduate College was created to be a community of scholars united in pursuit of a common vision. That vision is based on three foundational themes: to connect, enrich, and energize the communities that it serves. These communities include the city of Calgary, the University of Calgary, and the College's community of Scholars. As you have likely already heard, the Graduate College is also becoming the academic and community home for transdisciplinary graduate programs, which means that the College will be expanding to serve the community of transdisciplinary scholars as well.
What is Transdisciplinary Scholarship?
There are multiple perspectives on transdisciplinarity, but the University of Calgary uses the definition developed by the Calgary Institute for the Humanities:
Transdisciplinary scholarship is directed towards a complex issue or problem, most often one with a social dimension. Because of the complexity of the issue or problem, it is best addressed by teams of researchers from multiple disciplines. To address the social dimension of the question, transdisciplinary scholarship incorporates knowledges from outside the university, through theoretical or creative approaches to societal issues, and ideally by including societal actors who are implicated in the issue or problem in question. (Ellis, Dolata & Aydemir-Kundacki, 2024)
At the Graduate College, we recognize that your program of study may focus on a very singular discipline. Joining the College may be the first time you're thinking about how to connect with scholars outside your department or faculty. You may be ready to explore a multidisciplinary space, drawing on knowledge from other disciplines but maintaining your disciplinary boundaries; you may be considering interdisciplinarity where different disciplines are linked and harmonized into a coherent understanding; or you may be transdisciplinary, integrating disciplines to transcend into something new (Choi & Pak, 2006). Everyone interested in bringing together communities and disciplines is welcome.
What do the three foundational themes look like in practice?
Connect
Bringing together diverse groups, ideas, and worldviews to discuss significant issues in an open and collegial environment, the College will build connections between the University and the communities it serves.
Enrich
Creating a community of scholars from varied backgrounds and disciplines and a home for transdisciplinary scholars, the College will enrich the experience and future opportunities of its members and the members of the communities it serves through its programs, transdisciplinary scholarship, leadership development, and community building.
Energize
Enacting a culture of scholarship, leadership and service, the College will leverage Calgary’s rich tradition of community engagement to launch initiatives that energize the communities it serves and enable the pursuit of transdisciplinary solutions to complex issues, both local and global.