Interdisciplinary courses in electronics packaging using multiple instructors

Two graduate-level courses were developed to support a research program in advanced electronics packaging at the University of Arkansas. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of electronics packaging technology, the course material was prepared and taught by faculty members from several departments. The goal of the two courses was not to make students experts in all the specialty areas covered, but to provide them with a basic understanding of the many disciplines involved in electronics packaging and the technical skills required to be professionally successful in the field. Consequently, students from several engineering and basic science departments were exposed to technical subjects from a number of different disciplines, each taught by a different instructor. The organizational philosophy, as well as the actual organization of the two courses, the performance and comments of students who have completed the courses, and the level of success of the courses as perceived by both the students and the instructors is discussed