From Periphery to Core: A Four-Stage Evolutionary Model of Interdisciplinary Courses in Higher Education

This paper addresses the theoretical lag behind the widespread practice of interdisciplinary courses (IDCs) in higher education by proposing a dynamic evolutionary framework to reveal their generative logic and structural dynamics. Drawing on a "core–periphery" curriculum model, the study conceptualizes disciplinary programs as open knowledge networks and advances a Four-Stage evolutionary pathway for IDCs: peripheral emergence, core penetration, knowledge differentiation, and re-contextualization. Through theoretical analysis and illustrative cases—such as Bioinformatics and Environmental Economics—the paper argues that IDCs are not static content categories, but relational, contextual, and dynamic structural entities. Their evolution reflects both the curricular embodiment of Mode 2 knowledge production and the dialectical rhythm of "differentiation–integration–re-differentiation" in disciplinary development. The study further offers practical recommendations for university administrators and curriculum designers on dynamic curriculum governance, the institutionalization of the periphery as an incubation zone, and reforms in faculty evaluation and resource allocation to support sustainable interdisciplinarity. This framework offers a new theoretical lens for understanding curriculum evolution and informs the design of innovative, adaptive higher education systems.