Departments & Institutes

Students enter graduate study in the Fall term, which is structured to expose students to meaningful research experiences and innovative curriculum before a formal commitment to a specific PhD graduate program (see below for details). Students join a Department or Institute-based PhD graduate program in January of the 1st year, and ultimately obtain their degree from that program. Both Tier 1 and Tier 2 graduate programs award PhD degrees that involve original, thesis-based, independent research. Most students admitted into ILS are expected to later join Tier 1 graduate programs. Fewer ILS students join Tier 2 graduate programs; applicants interested in a specific Tier 2 program should consider applying to that graduate program directly. To learn more about the breadth of research within a specific graduate program, select from one of the links below.