Seahawks Advancing Interdisciplinary Learning (SAIL)

Undergraduate Education and Faculty Affairs Undergraduate Education and Faculty Affairs

By analyzing and understanding different disciplinary perspectives, students can take a multidimensional approach to creating new knowledge, or solutions within their field of study.

Our five-year Quality Improvement Plan (QEP) focuses on interdisciplinary learning to increase student achievement in three common goals: disciplinary grounding, perspective taking and integration. Titled “Seahawks Advancing Interdisciplinary Learning,” or SAIL, our grant-awarded teams led by top-tier faculty aim to improve students’ ability to think critically about diversity and global issues.

Interdisciplinary learning intentionally incorporates skills and approaches from different fields to generate new insights about pressing global challenges. By engaging in and creating a collaboration between different disciplines, students articulate and analyze different perspectives, acknowledging each discipline’s strengths and limitations and using those cohesively to develop new solutions to complex issues.

Over the next several years, students will have the opportunity to work on a variety of faculty-led projects to engage in SAIL work across colleges and units on UNCW’s campus.

Upcoming SAIL Events

Apply for a SAIL grant!

Self-enroll in the SAIL Canvas Site

SAIL Grant | Apply by March 28

Open to all levels of courses this year (still prioritizing 300-400 level)
Supports course instruction that uses interdisciplinary learning to target diversity, global citizenship, and/or critical thinking student learning outcomes
Receive up to $5,000 per faculty member (individual/small teams)
Upload completed application via Canvas to apply

If you are thinking about submitting an application, but you'd like further guidance, Kelley Hanna, SAIL/CTE Faculty Fellow can meet with you!

Individual Grants Awarded 2025-2026

Pathways to Critical Thinking, Diversity, and Global Citizenship Through an Immersive Experience in Peru | Dr. Ashlee Balena
Environmental Fiction: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Research, Writing, Publishing, and Activism | Dr. Michelle Donahue
Spanish for the Professions | Ana Asua
Reimagining Tragedy: Plays, Adaptations, and Cross-Media Analysis | Ruochen Bo
From Villains to Victims: Crime and Punishment in Latinx Literature | Dr. Amrita Das
Religion and Public Life Across Cultures: An Interdisciplinary Approach | Dr. Hikmet Kocamaner
AI in Context: Integrating Philosophy, Sociology, and Economics to Rethink AI’s Social Impact | Sang Teck Oh
From Ritual to Recreation: Examining the Spectrum of Religiosity through Experiencing the New Year in Japan | Dr. Ryan Lidster
Adapting Literature to the Stage: An Interdisciplinary Live Performance Project | Dr. Julie-Ann Scott Pollock

Large Team Grants Awarded 2023-2026

Digital Literacy

A large group collaboration across three colleges and UNCW Library will look at how to create better digital citizens who can critically think about what they see online. This will include courses such as Technical Writing and Applied Behavioral Technology, along with faculty professional development opportunities.

End-of-Life Education

Faculty in the Gerontology, Philosophy, Psychology, and Respiratory Therapy departments will take an interdisciplinary approach to end-of-life care and decision-making on campus and within the Wilmington community. They will study community needs and work on community engagement projects.

Critical AI

Faculty across three colleges will collaborate on examining the impact of artificial intelligence in various disciplines. This will include teaching various courses and hosting an array of events and activities, from AI art exhibits to workshops and presentations.

'The Other' in French and Francophone Studies

Through a small-team grant, faculty from the Department of World Languages will take an interdisciplinary approach to French courses looking at aliens in French works of fiction. The courses include ‘Alien Encounters in French Fiction and Cultures’ and ‘Intro to the Francophone World: Cinema of Africa and its Diasporas.’

More Information

Stay engaged with Interdisciplinary Learning! UNCW employees can subscribe for information and updates. (UNCW log-in required)

Contact Director Beverley McGuire and Assistant Director Erica Noles for more information and general inquiries.