BS in Interdisciplinary Science

What is a BS in Interdisciplinary Science?

Designed to provide students with broad scientific knowledge and a variety of technical skills, Florida Tech’s interdisciplinary science degree curriculum is aligned with your personal interests and professional goals. Interdisciplinary science courses, selected from many different electives in science, engineering, and non-technical fields such as business, the arts, and the humanities, prepare you for different leadership positions, careers, and graduate courses of study.

Peerless Study and Internship Opportunities

Interdisciplinary science students at Florida Tech have an opportunity to participate in science internships in a wide range of fields and with a variety of companies. Because of the individualized nature of the program, students can choose a specific company that interests them. Some of the organizations that provide science internships to Florida Tech students include:

• NASA
• National Institutes of Health
• Kennedy Space Center
• Harris Corp.
• Northrop Grumman

Science internships at these and many other companies provide our students with the opportunity to utilize their skills outside the classroom and forge the connections that may lead to a career.

Participate in Cutting-Edge Faculty-Led Research

Florida Tech professors actively promote student involvement in technical research. Students studying interdisciplinary science at Florida Tech have internships and research experiences in fields as diverse as astrophysics, nanotechnology, international business, technical writing, nuclear engineering, sustainable building development, and air traffic control.

Because the professors come from various departments on campus, the research opportunities span the entire spectrum of science, engineering, business, psychology, aeronautics, and humanities. Students work alongside faculty on research concerning sustainability, high-energy physics, coastal management, international education, space systems, sports education, and climate change, among others.

One of the best preparations that an interdisciplinary science major can have if they want to attend graduate school is to become an author on a published paper. Our professors make this goal attainable and have an excellent track record of undergraduate publications.

Research conducted by Florida Tech interdisciplinary science students provides valuable experience with the tools and techniques necessary for science internships and research. Our international faculty has research interests that include sustainability, high-energy physics, coastal management, space systems, and climate change. Some of the topics studied by interdisciplinary science students include:

• Astrophysics
• Nanotechnology
• International business
• Technical writing
• Nuclear engineering
• Critical languages

Research conducted by our students affects the real world. Students work on projects such as LEED-certifying buildings in Dubai, extending critical language studies to international business, and more.

It All Started With 37 Cents

Florida Tech was founded in 1958 as "Brevard Engineering College." It all started as an idea in the mind of Jerome P. Keuper, a visionary physicist working at Cape Canaveral.

As university lore would have it, Keuper expressed his desire to create a scientific and technological university to a friend over drinks at a local pub. Overhearing the conversation, a fellow patron pushed 37 cents in change across the bar and said, “There’s your first donation, Jerry. Now, go and build that college.”

So, Keuper did. And what started with 37 cents as a night school for the early “missilemen” of the U.S. space program is now a comprehensive national research university recognized worldwide for excellence in preparing students for careers of the future.

Core Values

• Research for the Benefit of All Humankind
• Education for a Lifetime of Success
• Global Citizenship for a Better World

Mission Statement

Florida Institute of Technology’s mission is to provide high-quality education to a culturally diverse student body in order to prepare students for entering the global workforce, seeking higher-education opportunities, and serving within their communities. The university also seeks to expand knowledge through basic and applied research and to serve the diverse economic, cultural, and societal needs of our local, state, national and international constituencies.

In support of this mission, we are committed to:

• Promoting student development by fostering and sustaining a productive institutional culture of assessment that leads to the continuous improvement of academic and administrative programs
• Developing an organizational culture that values and encourages intellectual curiosity, a sense of belonging and shared purpose among faculty, students, and staff, and the pursuit of excellence in all endeavors
• Recruiting and developing excellent faculty to become leaders in their respective fields and internationally recognized scholars
• Achieving recognition as an effective, innovative, technology-focused educational and research institution
• Recruiting and retaining an excellent, highly select, and culturally diverse student body
• Continually improving the quality of campus life for all members of the university community
• Providing personal and career growth opportunities for both traditional and nontraditional students and members of the faculty and staff
• Securing and maintaining professional accreditation for all appropriate programs

We Are Florida Tech

What we are is a private, coeducational, residential, research-intensive, doctoral-granting university located in Melbourne on Florida’s sunny “Space Coast.” But who we are is so much more. We are a community of researchers, scholars, and learners hailing from all around the world. We are engineers, aviators, innovators, leaders, educators, athletes, and astronauts. We have the brains of rocket scientists and the hearts of Panthers. We are Florida Tech.

We Are Relentless

Florida Tech is a university of leaders and learners—a diverse community of students, staff, faculty, and alumni who are united in the relentless pursuit of greatness.

We Are International

Students from more than 90 countries worldwide choose to live and learn at Florida Tech, making us a truly global university. When we say #YouAreWelcomeHere, we mean it.

We Create The Future

One of the primary tenets of Florida Tech’s mission is advancing science and technology for the benefit of Earth and all of its inhabitants. So, that’s what we do.

We Have Panther Pride

You may feel it the first time you visit the campus, the day you graduate, or at some point in between. But when you do, you’ll see that Panther Pride is more than school spirit. It’s a family.

We Make Connections

Florida Tech is proud to be part of the Brevard County community and welcomes its neighbors to explore the many personal, professional, corporate, and cultural opportunities we have to offer.

We Are STEM

There's a reason Florida Tech is known as Florida's STEM University™. To put it simply: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math are in our DNA. This makes STEM a driving force behind who we are, what we do, and why we exist.