School for Transdisciplinary Studies

University education is increasingly unable to stay within historically developed disciplinary boundaries. Today, studying implies that students are enabled to find their way through a rapidly changing environment with major challenges (such as climate change, digital transformation, globalization, social justice, etc.), adopting different analytical perspectives and developing sustainable solutions in transdisciplinary cooperation. 

In recent years, a growing number of initiatives, teams and offices  (e.g. Digital Society Initiative, Innovation Team, Sustainability Team and the Office for Gender Equality and Diversity) have emerged across UZH to address such transversal issues, developments and challenges. All these initiatives are engaged in developing study courses that are accessible to as many students in all faculties as possible.

In this context, the School for Transdisciplinary Studies acts as a hub between the faculties and the initiatives and is responsible for the placement and administration of the cross-thematic and cross-faculty courses. Furthermore, relevant courses offered by individual faculties may also be made available through the school to students in all faculties. The school merely functions as a hub for the courses offered, not for their content and financing. Specifically, the school will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Coordinating portfolio and quality assurance efforts
• Coordinating consultation processes between faculties and initiatives 
• Coordinating administrative and legal processes
• Increasing the visibility of inter- and transdisciplinary teaching and promoting the corresponding discourse
• Experimental space for innovations in the field of pioneering teaching and learning