Interdisciplinary Humanities (IHUM)
Overview
IHUM confers a joint doctoral degree, with applications accepted in the third year of study from students enrolled in the Ph.D. programs in the following departments and schools: Anthropology, Architecture, Art and Archaeology, Classics, Comparative Literature, East Asian Studies, English, French and Italian, German, History, Music, Near Eastern Studies, Philosophy, Political Philosophy in Politics, Religion, Slavic Languages and Literatures, Sociology, and Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literatures. Students who join the program become core members of a community of interdisciplinary research and exchange that convenes for seminars, workshops, and other events. They receive an additional year of fellowship support for research and exploration in areas beyond the boundaries of their fundamental disciplinary training, and graduate with a joint degree from their home department and from the Council of the Humanities.
The next round of applications should be submitted to IHUM on March 2, 2020. Applications should include a description of plans for dissertation research and a brief letter of support from a departmental adviser. For more details, see the program website.
Students cannot be admitted to Princeton University through the IHUM Program.
Joint Degree
Applicants to the program are recommended to take an IHUM program seminar in their first two years of coursework, and should, at all events, be able to show a record of interdisciplinary exploration. They are especially encouraged to take the methods course “Disciplinarity and Anti-Disciplinarity,” offered each fall prior to applying to IHUM. Students accepted into the program are expected to join in IHUM workshops, including a regular works-in-progress meeting for program members and faculty and a lunchtime series of talks, and other events, as participants and organizers.
Candidates for the joint degree must submit their dissertation for review by a member of the IHUM Executive and/or Program Committee. Dissertations should be submitted at the same time they are submitted to the Department granting the first degree.
Students are required to present a detailed plan for their IHUM fellowship year to the director of the program in the spring of the third year. They must fulfill all the requirements for the degree in their home departments.
Courses
Permanent Courses
Courses listed below are graduate-level courses that have been approved by the program’s faculty as well as the Curriculum Subcommittee of the Faculty Committee on the Graduate School as permanent course offerings. Permanent courses may be offered by the department or program on an ongoing basis, depending on curricular needs, scheduling requirements, and student interest. Not listed below are undergraduate courses and one-time-only graduate courses, which may be found for a specific term through the Registrar’s website. Also not listed are graduate-level independent reading and research courses, which may be approved by the Graduate School for individual students.