The Integrated Program in Humane Studies (IPHS), the oldest of Kenyon's interdisciplinary programs, engages students in an intensive study of classic works deriving from a wide range of historical contexts, cultural settings, and fields of knowledge. Our mission is to encourage and to help guide intellectual exploration and experimentation. Balancing tradition and innovation, IPHS is dedicated to helping students to express their analyses and evaluations of classic works ranging from Homer and Dante to Austen and Proust, in a clear and articulate manner. By discovering--or creating-- links between areas of knowledge and modes of knowing that are most often segregated by disciplines and departments, IPHS encourages students to think carefully and critically. It also provides students with the opportunity to experiment with an array of expressive media, including essays, films, multimedia presentations, graphic arts, and plays. These projects enable students to develop their abilities in written communication, oral communication, critical thinking, and new media skills, including design and composition.

The Curriculum

Unlike any other program of its kind, IPHS blends lectures, small seminars (typically twelve students), and one-on-one or two-on-one student-faculty tutorials. This unique approach to learning allows students to work closely with their professors. IPHS promotes a sense of community in which intellectual differences are respected and intellectual ties are strengthened.

Note that completion of the first-year, introductory seminar in IPHS not only counts toward the IPHS concentration but also may fulfill up to 1 unit of the College diversification requirement in the humanities or the social sciences.

More details are available in the IPHS Diversification Credits table.

Requirements for the Concentration

The concentration in IPHS requires 3.5 units of credit, plus the Senior Seminar, as follows:

* The year-long introductory seminar: IPHS 113Y Odyssey of the West: Love and Justice, and IPHS 114Y Odyssey of the West: Reason and Revolt (2 units)

* An additional 1 unit in intermediate-level coursework after completion of the introctory seminar. Students often choose IPHS 215 (Modernism and Its Critics) as one of their upper-level courses. Some courses in history and political science taught by IPHS faculty members may also be counted for the concentration. Courses in a variety of other fields may be counted as well, but students must obtain permission to count such courses by petitioning the program and consulting with the IPHS director.

* Students must also complete a senior (or, by permission, junior) project under the rubric of IPHS 484 or IPHS 485, listed as the Senior Seminar (.5 units).