Breaking Down Barriers in Academic and Professional Fields Through Interdisciplinary Project-based Learning and Merged Coursework

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education is challenged by industries to incorporate business and communication experiences (and vice versa) to better prepare students for workplace success. Many interdisciplinary biases in academia and industry are brought on by some of the same issues that create prejudices, inequities, and injustice in our society: fear of the unknown, assumptions, and learned inappropriate behaviors. We must tackle them in the fundamentals of learning. In this study, we outline an approach-the STEM Oriented Alliance for Research (SOAR)- to enhance collaboration in interdisciplinary problem-based learning for undergraduate students. Data show this approach was successful in transforming many collaborative and interdisciplinary dispositions and mindsets and students' conceptions of their future academic and professional lives.