Portfolio Program
Program Requirements
The "Doctoral Portfolio Program in Interdisciplinary European Studies" is open to all Ph.D. students on the UT-Austin campus. The Portfolio Program could be profitably combined with programs such as social sciences, arts, communications, business and language studies. It enables students to establish strong interdisciplinary profiles based on focused cross-disciplinary coursework and research planning for studies of Europe (defined as current and future likely member states of the European Union).
Download an application for the IES Portfolio Program (PDF, 44K)
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The Doctoral Portfolio Program in Interdisciplinary European Studies offers a venue for exchange and integration of perspectives drawn from various disciplines. The Program facilitates students' definition of appropriate interdisciplinary perspectives and courses of study for their future professional careers (in research, teaching, or otherwise). It promotes dialogue to raise consciousness for research and writing standards in interdisciplinary research, supplementing extant interdisciplinary lecture series on the campus. Students enrolled in the Portfolio Program will be able to engage in dialogue with the faculty doing research and teaching on Europe from an interdisciplinary perspective. They will be eligible for a formal advising structure on interdisciplinary work and career opportunities to supplement the ones that are available in extant degree programs in the humanities, social sciences, and professional schools. The Program will provide prospective employers with indications of a student's area and disciplinary competencies outside normal degree sequences.
Admissions Procedure and Program Advising
Students can enter the Portfolio Program at any point in their doctoral work, but it is recommended that they complete the portfolio courses and language requirements before being admitted to candidacy.
Students interested in developing a Portfolio must complete and submit an application form to the director (.pdf version available on the Portfolio website); this form will be reviewed by the IES Admissions and Certification Committee. The application must include the signatures of the student’s Graduate Adviser and Dissertation Supervisor(s). The application must be accompanied by the submission of a 1-2 pp. essay describing the importance of a particular interdisciplinary specialization or area study in European Studies to the student’s doctoral program and career goals. Students who are accepted for the portfolio will work with the Director as the Portfolio Adviser in developing the final set of courses for their proposed specialization area.
Course Requirements:
For the Portfolio Certification, students will be required to complete a contract of 12 hours of graduate-level courses.
- 12 credit hours of graduate-level courses (four courses), chosen from extant graduate coursework, with an overall GPA of 3.5 or better in these courses. These four courses must be chosen outside the offerings of the student's official degree program, in one of two recommended distributions, as specified on the Application Form.
- proof of the student's ability to function in English and in at least one European language at a level appropriate to professional research and other activities.
- In addition to the course requirements, student must present the dissertation in progress to a colloquium consisting of: (1) the dissertation committee, (2) IES faculty, and (3) other IES students. This Dissertation Presentation will be scheduled through the IES Director; it must be held, at the latest, within one (1) calendar year of the date of the student's admission to candidacy.