Maienschein, J.: Promoting Interdisciplinary Thinking through Biology and Society Programs

We hear increasing calls for scientists to become involved in public arenas, yet we offer too little training for such roles and we typically offer it too late. By graduate school, students are already expected to concentrate on their research. Faculty focus on publishing and productivity. We argue that undergraduates are best prepared to benefit from multi-disciplinary education that includes science policy, ethics, history, philosophy, and a range of other social issues. An undergraduate major within the Biology Department at Arizona State University, an annual bioethics retreat for undergraduates, and student travel opportunities are the main features of our approach. Benefits then “trickle up” to the larger community.