As the world becomes more interconnected and complex, the role of accountants has expanded to include responsibilities in financial decisions, strategic planning, regulation compliance, and ethics. In response to the demand for reform in accounting education, educators have explored innovative methods to engage students in more effective learning experiences. One such approach is integrating interdisciplinary learning projects to develop accounting students' problem-solving skills with broader perspectives. Studies have shown a positive relationship between cross-disciplinary integration and student engagement, particularly between STEM and social science students.

The interdisciplinary project studied follows the Collaboration Across Boundaries (CAB) model, which includes three components:
(a) coordinated but separate courses with different instructors and goals,
(b) collaboration with a community partner to address social needs, and
(c) assessment of the impact on scientific literacy, disciplinary learning, and community engagement.

The research question investigates whether collaboration between computer science and accounting students improves learning outcomes in scientific literacy, accounting knowledge, and community engagement. Results show no significant differences in pre-test scores between control and treatment groups, suggesting that students in both groups rated their academic knowledge and social engagement similarly. However, both groups positively evaluated their skills in accounting, even though the differences between the two models were not fully captured by the current measures.

While the limited differences between collaborative and single-discipline groups are disappointing, there are encouraging signs that collaboration skills improved. This aligns with anecdotal evidence from students and faculty. We suggest that learning to collaborate across disciplines is an essential academic skill and recommend future research to develop better measures for evaluating collaboration.

Keywords: Interdisciplinary learning, accounting education, community collaboration project.