Interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies Program Info Session

Description

This Zoom information session and presentation about the PhD program in Interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies (IHS) will feature Ian Phillips, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of philosophy and cognitive science, who will talk about what it is like to do interdisciplinary research bridging two disciplines, and Tatiana Avesani, the first student in the PhD in IHS program, whose project bridges Italian literature and classics, who will talk about the experience as a pioneer in this new program. There will be plenty of time for discussion and questions about the program and the kind of research it aims to support.

This program, funded by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, offers current first- and second-year PhD students at Johns Hopkins who are enrolled in humanities and humanistic social sciences disciplines the opportunity to create an interdisciplinary doctoral program of their own design, within set guidelines. Students work with faculty advisors from two different PhD fields, one of which must be humanistic, to create a custom program that combines the methods, resources, and requirements of these two fields; on this basis, they develop and carry out their specific interdisciplinary course of study and research. The program is administered by the KSAS Dean's Office and the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute. Applications for Fall 2022 entry are due Feb. 4, 2022; admitted students transition from their current program to their self-constructed course of study starting in the Fall 2022 semester. Up to three new students will be admitted for the Fall 2022 cohort.

About the Interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies program

The PhD in Interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies (IHS) is a new doctoral program, funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation, that aims to facilitate the investigation of topics and problems that benefit from the insights of two disciplines. Under this program, first and second-year doctoral students have the unique opportunity to design a customized interdisciplinary PhD curriculum that they will pursue over the remaining years of their doctoral study. This program provides an avenue to pursue training and research that might not be easily carried out within the ambit of an established PhD program, and that stands to produce novel interdisciplinary research results and innovative curricula that impact two (or more) fields at once. IHS students work with faculty advisors from two different PhD fields, combining the methods, resources, and requirements of the two fields to develop and carry out their specific interdisciplinary course of study and research. At least one of these fields must be in the humanities or humanistic social sciences.

Eligibility requirements

Applications will open in January 2022. To be eligible to apply, students must be currently enrolled in their first or second year of doctoral study at Johns Hopkins in a humanities or humanistic social sciences discipline. Accepted students officially enter the IHS program at the beginning of the following year, and from that point onward they follow their self-designed course of research and study. Administratively they exit their original program and transition to dedicated IHS program funding. Students entering the program in their second year are then guaranteed four further years of full stipend, tuition remission, and health care, to make up five years of full support, conditional upon satisfactory progress. Students entering the program in their third year are guaranteed three further years of full support to make up five full years, conditional upon satisfactory progress, but may petition for one additional year or partial year of funding. Students are provided workspace, administrative support, and other programming and research support by the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute.