Admissions

Graduate Studies in the ILA

The ILA provides a unique interdisciplinary environment for the pursuit of intellectual projects that cross traditional disciplinary and methodological boundaries. We welcome applications from scholars of the most diverse intellectual and cultural backgrounds and from those who are seeking Ph.D.s in order to pursue work in the public sphere as well as those who hope for teaching careers.

Historically, the ILA has been a haven for innovative scholars seeking a challenging, interdisciplinary context to pursue projects that could not be accomplished in traditional departments. Many students enter the program with one or more masters degrees or with substantial professional experience. However, we also welcome younger scholars with a clear vision of why the ILA is the right place for them.

ILA graduate students design individualized programs of study in consultation with their advisors. These programs, which include seminars both inside and outside the ILA, build upon a common framework of required courses including foundations in interdisciplinary study, a pedagogy seminar, and a seminar in research design. Students who enter without a master's degree normally spend three years in coursework, while those with a master’s proceed to their qualifying exams during their third year.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted to the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts via the Emory Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Online Application by January 3, 2009 for the
Fall 2009 semester.

The core elements of an application are:

• A detailed statement of purpose (approximately 1500 words)
• A sample of scholarly writing (25 pages maximum. Please note that samples
  cannot be returned)
• Scanned copies of original transcripts
• Three letters of recommendation
• Current GRE scores

The Purpose of the Statement of Purpose

Your statement of purpose is a key element of your application. It should set out your scholarly interests and concerns in an interdisciplinary fashion, identifying the intersection of disciplines, methods, and periods you propose to study in the ILA. What are the core questions and problems that concern you? Why are these issues significant and what methods and traditions of inquiry will you bring to bear upon them? Feel free to indicate faculty members in the Graduate School with whom you would hope to work. If possible, include a tentative description of a prospective dissertation research project. If you wish to pursue the Ph.D. with a certificate in Comparative Literature, Film Studies, Medieval Studies, Philosophy, Psychoanalytic Studies, or Women's Studies, please indicate this in your application.

We are interested in your current vision of your program of study, even as we recognize that your intellectual goals will evolve over time. Your statement of purpose tells us about the kind of thinker that you are; it indicates whether you are able to formulate a coherent and significant scholarly project; and it helps us discern whether Emory can provide the intellectual resources you need. In outlining a proposed course of study, applicants should clearly explain how and why their work requires an interdisciplinary context and indicate how they believe our faculty can facilitate the work they aspire to do. In short, it should convince us that you can accomplish something in the ILA that you couldn’t in a more traditional department.

Financial Support

Everyone who is admitted to the ILA is offered full funding renewable for a total of five years contingent upon satisfactory progress in the program. Funding for each entering student includes a full-tuition fellowship and a stipend of $16,500 annually (2008-09). Students are required to provide service to the Institute in the form of research assistantships and teaching.

Eligible applicants may also be nominated by the ILA for the Graduate School's Woodruff Fellowship, Emory Graduate Diversity Fellowship and the Arts & Sciences Fellowship competitions. Each of those special fellowship programs offers five years of full support for graduate study at a higher stipend level. Additional merit-based funding is sometimes available in the sixth year.

For further information, please contact Tracy Allen at tblando@emory.edu.