Traversing Borders and Disciplines: Education Abroad as a High-Impact Practice for Transdisciplinary Learning

Transdisciplinary collaboration and communication are essential for solving complex problems that resist single-discipline solutions. Guiding students in developing the ability to engage in transdisciplinary problem solving and confidently navigate uncertainty is a pressing concern among higher-education institutions. While education abroad is widely documented as a high-impact learning practice, there is little research assessing the value of education abroad as a tool for transdisciplinary engagement and skill development. This study presents evidence of the efficacy of education abroad in achieving those goals. Over five hundred students at a midwestern state flagship university were surveyed regarding their experiences with and confidence in transdisciplinary interaction as part of summer education abroad programs. Across a wide variety of summer programs, students overwhelmingly report engaging in transdisciplinary work and growing their transdisciplinary skills.