How to capitalize on the rising demand for graduate-level interdisciplinary degrees

When conferrals for master’s degrees in interdisciplinary studies grew by over 10,000 in five years, graduate enrollment leaders and EAB experts all took notice. After all, such notable growth should indicate strong opportunities for new programs.

However, these 10,000+ conferrals hide some important details. When we dig into the growth of Interdisciplinary Studies programs, we find that the surge in this field is actually a surge specifically in data analytics programs classified within Interdisciplinary Studies.

Of all interdisciplinary programs, administrators should consider focusing their new ventures on data analytics fields to capture that impressive rise in student demand. Below, I will explore the data more in depth and provide recommendations to consider as you develop interdisciplinary master’s programs.

Data analytics composes over half of added interdisciplinary conferrals

Due to the growth in data analytics programs, Interdisciplinary Studies ranked in the top five fastest-growing CIP codes in the past five years.

Given this growth, it’s no wonder that administrators want to take advantage of the increasing demand for these programs. However, there are some key insights which should guide the development of new interdisciplinary programs.

1. Analytics-based programming opportunities may be the most valuable to pursue. Between the 2018-2019 and 2022-2023 academic years, these CIP Codes (30.7x) experienced a net growth of 6,935 completions (average annual growth of 154.69% across the period). Additionally, between the 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 academic years, the number of institutions reporting analytics-based completions increased an average annual 64.40%.

Comparatively, general interdisciplinary programs (codes 30.0000 and 30.9999) grew by a net of 141 completions and all other interdisciplinary programs (57 CIP codes total) grew by a net of 3,950 completions.

2. As a new classification in 2020, growth in analytics represents both new and re-classified programs. Administrators should note that the analytics-based interdisciplinary codes were only introduced in 2020, meaning no completions could be reported under them before that year. This means that the growth in these codes can be partially attributed to institutional leaders reporting completions for existing programs under the new codes. However, the growth can also be associated with new programs introduced during and after the 2020-2021 academic year. According to the Institute for Advanced Analytics, 75 institutions began new data analytics programs since 2020 . So, while existing programmatic completions being reported under the new CIP codes may be responsible for some of the growth seen, new programs still add to the overall development of analytics-based programs.

Conduct an internal analysis and an external demand assessment

With a clearer understanding of the data, here are the next steps you and your colleagues can take in the development of new master’s-level interdisciplinary programs.

1. Conduct internal new program opportunity analyses to determine your institution’s current programmatic strengths. This will help determine strong opportunities for graduate interdisciplinary program development within the context of your institution. While degree completions data highlights potential program routes, your internal data may highlight opportunities which you are already primed to launch. For example, if you have a large and growing undergraduate accounting program, you may be able to retain those students in a master’s-level accounting and analytics interdisciplinary degree. If your MBA is already finding success, consider incorporating data analytics into the program to capture an even wider audience.

2. Leverage Market Insights to analyze external data trends and find the most valuable prospective program topics. Our team offers a Market Opportunity Scan to find new programmatic opportunities based on the labor market and competitive landscape strengths of various fields. Alternatively, our Program Feasibility Study dives into the labor market and competitive landscape data of a specific programmatic idea to determine its viability. For further resources, take a look at our New Program Launch Guidebook.

3. Use new programs to target specific audiences, and if resources allow, develop multiple new programs to unlock different audiences. Take the example of University of Texas at Dallas. They led the data analytics market in the 2022-2023 academic year, producing 8.58% of master’s-level graduates and reporting 595 master’s-level completions for the analytics-based interdisciplinary CIP Codes. Notably, the University offers three distinct interdisciplinary analytics programs: Accounting and Analytics, Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, and Marketing. With these three programs, they capture students from across disciplines. When thinking of new program ideas, consider how multiple options might fully maximize your ability to capture student demand.

4. Think outside of the box. While analytics-based programs have seen the most growth in recent years, other interdisciplinary CIP Codes also grew. Some of these include:

• Behavioral Sciences (Code 30.17; net increase of 1,017),
• Sustainability Studies (Code 30.33; net increase of 900 completions), and
• Nutrition Sciences (Code 30.19; net increase of 464 completions).

Delving into a variety of fields outside of the common business and analytics-based ones will help further expand the audiences you’re able to reach. Again, consult internal data as well as external sources to validate opportunities beyond just growth in reported conferrals.

With these next steps, you and your team can begin to develop plans to capture the growth of the master’s-level interdisciplinary field. Remember, without thorough analysis and a grasp on the data, its limitations, and the bigger picture, you risk launching programs without student interest or employer demand. Use the insights from the data provided in this post, your institution’s own strengths, and EAB resources to develop multiple new program opportunities which can capture a variety of audiences.