Abstract
This ethnography studied doctoral students in the. program at a medium sized Midwestern Jesuit University and their perceptions of interdisciplinary education within the framework of an online program. The primary question studied by this ethnography was “how do online doctoral students view interdisciplinary education?” A secondary question was “what do these views mean when analyzing whether students value and actively participate in learning and instruction within an interdisciplinary environment?” Data collection involved analyzing historical records from a required class where the students were asked to answer the discussion question, “What does the interdisciplinary nature of the program mean to you?” The students’ postings were analyzed manually to identify major themes as understood by the doctoral students. While interdisciplinary education and collaboration is well-documented in traditional classrooms, there is limited research in interdisciplinary education in doctoral programs and even less research regarding interdisciplinary education in online programs. This research is one small contribution towards increasing the knowledge of interdisciplinary education within online doctoral programs.