About the PhD Program

Program details

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:

Department/School
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* Spanish and Portuguese

*Owing to the fieldwork schedule, students in Anthropology and Sociology may choose to apply either in their second or third year but may apply only once.

HUM583 is a pre-requisite for admission to the program. Applicants should discuss a plan to complete the seminar with the Director if they cannot take HUM583 when they enter the program. All applicants should be able to demonstrate a record of interdisciplinary exploration and make the case that the time and resources afforded by the fellowship will substantively expand the interdisciplinary nature of the dissertation project. For more detailed information about the application process, see the FAQs below. The next application cycle will be due on March 1, 2024.

Students who join the Ph.D. Program become core members of a community of interdisciplinary research and exchange that convenes for seminars, workshops, and other events. They are required to present work in progress in the fourth or fifth year, in addition to attending the graduate workshops of their community members, held two to three times a year. Together with other students in their cohort, students in the Program conceptualize and organize a series of lunch talks around a theme in the fourth and fifth years and choose the annual Faber Lecturer in the sixth year.

After presenting a detailed plan for their IHUM fellowship year to the Director, ordinarily in the spring of the third year, students spend their fourth year on research and exploration in areas beyond the boundaries of their fundamental disciplinary training. Students then receive an additional year of university fellowship support to be used in their sixth year as a DCE1 student. Enrollment into a DCE1 year is not guaranteed to IHUM students; central Graduate School eligibility rules for entering DCE status apply here as they do for all doctoral students. Upon review of the dissertation by a member of the Executive Committee or the Program Committee and fulfilling all the requirements for the degree in their home departments, IHUM students graduate with a joint degree from their home department and from the Council of the Humanities.

Apply

Graduate students are eligible to apply to IHUM in their third year of graduate study. HUM583 will be a required course for IHUM students, who may take it before or after applying for the program. Applicants should discuss a plan to complete the seminar with the Director once they are admitted. The next round of applications should be emailed to Barbara Leavey, by the end of the day on March 1, 2024.

The application should consist of the following elements:

A completed application form, signed by your departmental Director of Graduate Studies.
Download the form
A five-hundred-word description of your interdisciplinary interests as they bear on your prospective dissertation work: in particular, the research or experience, outside of your departmental training, that would warrant an additional year of support. The overriding criteria are intellectual seriousness and adventurousness.
A twenty-page, double-spaced writing sample representative of your interests.

You should also arrange for a one-paragraph recommendation from an advisor in your department, ordinarily one of your dissertation advisors, to be emailed directly to Barbara Leavey by the March 1st deadline.

Please email the electronic copy (as a .doc or .pdf file) of the description of your interests and of the writing sample to Barbara Leavey.

Finalists will be invited for a brief interview in late March, and notifications will be made shortly after.

Consult our frequently asked questions (FAQs) below for more details.

FAQs

What kinds of interdisciplinary projects does IHUM support?: A strong proposal will demonstrate why the project requires intellectual and disciplinary resources beyond those available within the parameters of the home discipline and additional time for training and research. Because candidates accepted to the program receive a year of fellowship support, a strong proposal will also outline a program of study to be undertaken in the fourth year through which these additional resources will be accessed and activated (e.g., through course work, at Princeton or elsewhere; independent research; or other kinds of training, for example, in one of the arts or sciences). We recognize that while some projects may benefit from training within the boundaries of another traditional discipline, others may require a tailored mix of new methodologies and research areas. We encourage applicants to devise a fourth-year plan that will be maximally responsive to the problem at the heart of their dissertation, while recognizing that interdisciplinary training will extend over the dissertation-writing process. We are also especially interested in projects that find a way of addressing questions of theory and practice. We take seriously the contribution to understanding of doing what you write about—whether that it philosophy, or music, or biology—and welcome proposals that demonstrate an engagement with form as well as with content.
Imaginative and resourceful as it is, I am not sure if my dissertation is particularly interdisciplinary. Should I apply?: IHUM works with an expansive notion of interdisciplinarity. If you work between two or more disciplines or between an academic field and a creative practice (filmmaking, art, creative writing, music, theater, etc.), you should apply to the program. The best way to get a sense of its scope is to enroll in a program seminar and/or to attend IHUM events or speak with current IHUM students. We also hold an open house each December to provide information about the program, answer questions, and give interested students the opportunity to talk to our faculty and students.
What should I submit as a writing sample?: The writing sample should ideally reflect your interdisciplinary interests, but most important is that you show us your best work. If you submit a course paper, for example, in which those interests are latent, your application essay should help us see how they will develop. We also accept more journalistic or creative pieces, as long as they give us a sense of you as a thinker and writer. We would rather not receive dissertation proposals as writing samples.
Who can apply to the program?: The program is open to students already pursuing the PhD in one of the eligible departments or programs, but all enrolled graduate students at the University are very welcome to take our seminars, attend our events, and initiate reading groups. We also encourage faculty members across the university to participate in our events.
When do students take the IHUM fellowship year?: The purpose of the fellowship year is to provide time for exploration, which is best undertaken early in the dissertation process. The fellowship technically supports the fourth year of study, but students may want to begin their interdisciplinary research as early as the summer following the third year. For students in Anthropology and Sociology, the fellowship year may fall in the third year, prior to and/or concurrent with fieldwork. After presenting a detailed plan for their IHUM fellowship year to the Director, ordinarily in the spring of the third year, students spend their fourth year on research and exploration in areas beyond the boundaries of their fundamental disciplinary training. Students then receive an additional year of university fellowship support to be used in their sixth year as a DCE1 student. Enrollment into a DCE1 year is not guaranteed to IHUM students; central Graduate School eligibility rules for entering DCE status apply here as they do for all doctoral students.”
Are students in IHUM still eligible for other fellowships at Princeton?: Students in IHUM remain eligible for the University’s Honorific Fellowships (Porter Ogden Jacobus Fellowship, Harold W. Dodds Fellowships, and Charlotte Elizabeth Proctor Fellowships), as well as the Hyde Fellowships. But because an IHUM Fellowship requires a commitment to participate in workshops and events, it generally precludes holding fellowships awarded by other programs and centers at Princeton.
Does an IHUM fellowship provide support for tuition, travel, or other research expenses?: In addition to another year of fellowship support, IHUM also provides a small research and travel stipend in each of the three years students are enrolled in the degree program.
What other events or initiatives does IHUM support on campus?: We co-sponsor a range of conferences (organized by students and/or faculty), lectures, performances, exhibits, and other events across campus, particularly those that foster interdisciplinarity. We also offer a range of graduate courses co-taught by members of the IHUM Executive Committee and IHUM Faculty Affiliates.