This study focused on the socially-constructed meanings, implications, and institutional factors that influence the extent to which faculty members engage in collaborative teaching at a research university. Drawing upon theoretical foundations of interdisciplinarity and collaborative teaching and in-depth findings from faculty focus groups, we illustrate the various models of collaborative teaching currently in use by faculty and the structural conditions governing these teaching experiences. Findings suggest that while collaborative teaching experiences are emerging as teaching innovation and are potentially beneficial to students, they are institutionally challenging and often incongruent to the dominant culture of the research university.