OLLSCOIL ISLES IDIRNÁISIÚNTA | ISLES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITYUniversity for Doctoral Studies, Postdoctoral Research & Publication
Established Since 2000 in the European Union
OLLSCOIL ISLES IDIRNÁISIÚNTA | ISLES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
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At the SDS, the social sciences comprise academic disciplines concerned with the study of the social life of human groups and individuals including anthropology, communication studies, human geography, history, political science, psychology and sociology.
At the SSc, our faculties, researchers and students come from all over the world and they realize that today's challenges are global and interdisciplinary, and they know that SSc will give them the knowledge and skills to pioneer world-changing solutions.
At SSc, students learn to view ideas with historical perspective, test them for viability, understand them from a global vantage point, and talk and write about them with insight. SSc, in fact, is the common denominator of a SDS student's education, providing a foundation of knowledge that enhances life-long learning in every field.
There are five humanities related disciplines and five disciplines dealing with social sciences; each one of the two sections is run by a Deputy Head of Department and each one of the ten disciplines hosted at these sections work under direction of a Chair of Discipline.
HumanitiesArt is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as Aesthetics.
Art is the expression of creativity or imagination. Art is understood as the act of making artworks which use the human creative impulse and which have meaning beyond simple description. Creative arts denote a collection of disciplines whose principal purpose is the output of material for the viewer or audience to interpret. As such, art may be taken to include forms ranging from literary forms (prose and poetry); performance-based forms (dance, acting, drama, and music); visual and "plastic arts" (painting, sculpture, photography, illustration); to forms that also have a functional role, such as architecture and fashion design. Art may also be understood as relating to creativity, æsthetics and the generation of emotion.
At SSc research projects dealing with arts and architecture imply the fact of creation with high privilege over analysis and critics; our students produce works of art and architecture through developing projects like “Art in Progress”, “Art Files” and “Art borders”, under guidance, coaching and supervision of some of the best recognised European artists and architects at a number of institutions in which SSc maintains close co-participation like Transart Institute and Absolute Arts ; on their way to creation of art they explore traditional and over-the- edge art proposals and alternatives in practically every subject related with art and every topic of modern and contemporary art.
Languages and LiteratureThe SSc is committed to enhancing diversity in all aspects of academic life, and to be inclusive of minorities and multiculturalism in the academic community. Faculty as well as students in the SSc are diverse in ethnic and racial background, nationality, cultural heritage and academic training. The departmental PhD programme thus offers the incoming student the benefits of studying in a racially and culturally diverse setting. Students may seek a PhD in the following areas:
Germanic Studies
The graduate program is designed for students who desire to pursue a career in Academe, as well as those who seek professional training and career advancement. Led by a distinguished faculty of nationally and internationally known scholars, the program provides ample opportunity to train the critical mind, acquire research skills, and gain the knowledge and expertise to make significant contributions to the profession.
The graduate curriculum consists of both discipline-based and interdisciplinary courses. Students at the PhD programme are encouraged to pursue interdisciplinary work in a related field, for example, Comparative Literature, History, and Women's Studies in addition to their specialization in Germanic Studies.
Modern French Studies
The PhD in Modern French Studies encompasses the Renaissance to the present. The composition of the Faculty makes it possible for students to specialize in a wide variety of areas in French language, literature, and culture. As the discipline is hosted at the SSc, Literatures and Cultures that encourages and facilitates interdisciplinary scholarship, particularly in Art Studies and in Cultural Studies.
Second Language Acquisition
The PhD programme has a strong cognitive science and research focus for students working in languages other than English. There are four areas of specialization: second language learning, second language instruction, second language assessment, and second language use. Students select two courses in each of two areas (for a total of four courses), plus two additional electives in the area of their proposed dissertation work. In addition, all students will take two courses in quantitative and/or qualitative research methods. The eight courses (total) represent the minimum coursework requirement; some students may need remedial coursework prior to undertaking the set of eight courses, and many will wish to take courses beyond the minimum eight, based on their interests. Additionally, all students are encouraged to take a course in the philosophy of science.
In addition, the SSc programme is complemented by course offerings in language-specific areas, such as History of Language X (Spanish, French or German); Structure of Language X (e.g., phonology, morphology and syntax of the language - Spanish, French, German, Japanese or Russian); Language in Use: Sociolinguistics and/or Pragmatics of Language X (German, Spanish or Japanese); Issues in the Research of X as a Foreign/Second Language (French); Applied Linguistics of Language X (Spanish).
Spanish Language & Literature
The PhD studies in Spanish are divided into two areas: Spanish literature and Latin American literature. Each student must choose either Spanish literature or Latin American literature as his/her main area. The student will also select three sub-fields in that area.
For example, a student specializing in Latin American literature may choose Colonial literature, Contemporary literature, and Indigenous Cultures. From these three sub-fields, the student will elect one as his/her focus. The student will also choose an additional (4th) sub-field from his/her secondary area. For instance, the above mentioned student could choose The Golden Age as the fourth field.
Spanish Literature - The Medieval Period; the Golden Age; Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century; Twentieth Century.
Latin-American Literatures - The Colonial Period; Nineteenth Century; Modernism and Avant-garde; Contemporary; Literatures of the Portuguese-Speaking World; U.S. Latina/o Literatures and Cultures; Indigenous Cultures; Caribbean Cultures.
Law and Political ScienceLaw
The PhD programme relates to the course of study for the doctoral degree at the Discipline of law, SSc, in pursuance of the Regulations for the Degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the School of Doctoral Studies (European Union).
Aim - The degree programme provides academic support and supervision to candidates in their work on a dissertation. The course of study leading to the doctoral degree, shall qualify candidates for research activity and for other work in society for which a high level of scientific insight is demanded. In addition, through various theoretical and methodological subjects the candidate will gain an independent and balanced view of legal research.
Aim - The degree programme provides academic support and supervision to candidates in their work on a dissertation. The course of study leading to the doctoral degree, shall qualify candidates for research activity and for other work in society for which a high level of scientific insight is demanded. In addition, through various theoretical and methodological subjects the candidate will gain an independent and balanced view of legal research.
Organisation - The course of study is organised in one programme. However, candidates must specialise in one of the following areas: law, criminology/sociology of law, and human rights.
Political Science
Formally, the department organizes its academic activities along five fields of study: European Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Methodology, Political Institutions, and Political Theory. Each field is overseen by a small group of faculty who are responsible for developing curriculum at postgraduate levels, as well as administering doctoral examinations.
The field of European Politics includes the study of European political institutions, political behaviour, formal theory, and statistical methods. The field of Comparative Politics includes area studies, comparative political economy, the study of ethnic conflict, and institutions. Our faculty are experts in America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The field of International Relations includes the study of ethnic conflict, international political economy, and international politics. The field of Political Institutions includes the study of public bureaucracy, public administration, and organizational theory.
The field of Political Theory includes the study of ethics, moral philosophy, education, and rational choice.
History and Archaeology
The doctoral degree is offered in a wide range of fields from Ancient Near Eastern history, art and archaeology to contemporary art and critical theory, with most of the major fields in between strongly represented: Aegean, Greek, Roman, western Medieval, Byzantine, Italian, French and British Renaissance and Baroque, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth-century European art, and the history of photography. There is considerable strength in the history of architecture, as befits a university with our foremost historical and architectural library. The Department is also proud of its strengths in art outside of Europe and offers degrees in pre-Columbian history, art and archaeology, American art, and in the arts of China, Japan, India and sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, courses are regularly taught in Native American art.
First-semester students all enrol in a methodologically oriented Proseminar, as well as seminars and graduate lecture courses. Adventurous breadth in art history is encouraged, and there is ample opportunity for course work in related departments. There is also a steady exchange of advanced students with our partner institutions. Each semester at least one course, and often several, is taught in the main European museums. Learn how SSc PhD students may take courses at fellow institutions through The Inter-University Doctoral Consortium.
Philosophy and ReligionThe Discipline’s mission is to promote work on traditional topics and questions in the philosophy of religion and to encourage the development and exploration of non theistic and theistic philosophy. The Discipline awards five residential research fellowships every year and sponsors a variety of talks, conferences, and workshops at the SDS and elsewhere within other European research centres.
The Discipline hopes to promote work concerned with the traditional topics and questions that fall under the rubric of the philosophy of religion: the theistic proofs, the rationality of belief in God, the problem of evil, the nature of religious language, and the like. At least as important, however, is the Discipline’s effort to promote and encourage the development and exploration of, basically, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim philosophy, privileging the sort of philosophy which takes nothing for granted and then proceeds to work on philosophical questions and problems from that perspective.
Social ScienceAnthropology is the study of the physical, social and cultural characteristics of humanity. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences. Ethnography is one of its primary methods as well as the text that is generated from anthropological fieldwork.
Anthropology has been distinguished from other social sciences by its emphasis on in-depth examination of context, cross-cultural comparisons, and the importance it places on participant-observation, or long-term, experiential immersion in the area of research. Cultural anthropology in particular has emphasized cultural relativity and the use of findings to frame cultural critiques.
At the SSc, research is carried out by a community of scholars composed of faculty, graduate students, visiting scholars and postdoctoral scholars. They work in every corner of the world, and their research spans the entire breadth of anthropology, from medical and biological anthropology to folklore and linguistic research.
GeographyThe Discipline at the SSc covers a range of topics in contemporary geography. Our 14 regular faculty, various adjuncts and assistants and over 50 graduate students provide rich and lively cultural and learning environments. Faculty and graduate student research interests fall under three broad headings of Economic Geography, Physical Geography and Resource Management. Within these, individual interests include, business geography, care of the elderly, housing and regional and international development. Human interaction with the physical environment provides the focus for our work in climatology, geomorphology, hydrology, land use and tropical agriculture. We also possess excellent facilities for teaching and research in the technical fields of GIS, remote sensing, and cartography. There are strong ties with the interdisciplinary Research Centre at the IIU Press facilities, to which many faculty are affiliated. The Discipline plays a leading role in the Land Use Environmental Change Institute (LUECI) and is a partner with the School of Natural Resources and Environment.
Education
The PhD in Education is an international degree that links the student, the Discipline of Education, and the SSc to the international scholarship in their field of study. It is an activity that is intellectually demanding, time-consuming, and sometimes a little threatening in that there are risks associated with developing and seeing the project through to completion, and gaining final acceptance.
The PhD degree is a course of advanced study and research, culminating in the submission of a thesis that incorporates an original contribution to the field of education and meets internationally recognized standards of such work. The focus of the PhD programme in Education is on producing professional researchers who will advance both the scholarship and practice of the field of education. This full-time programme of supervised research is aimed at graduates who aspire to positions of professional educational leadership and responsibility, or to a career in educational research, and wish to develop research skills and knowledge in depth of a particular field.
Communication
The PhD programme prepares students to conduct original research on communication processes and effects, within the tradition of the social and behavioural sciences. Most graduates enter academic teaching and research careers, or communication-related professions that require quantitative research skills. After a core curriculum of courses in empirical methods, statistics, and mass communication theory, each student builds a research specialization through advanced courses and seminars in Communication and related departments, research projects, teaching, and an examination in the area of concentration.
SDS PhD programme in Communication has been a major source of professors of mass communication internationally. Many doctoral students come from work backgrounds in journalism and other communication professions, and will teach these skills. But the doctoral program itself is an intense preparation for social scientific research on communication processes and effects.
Faculty in the SSc involve their doctoral students in a wide variety of research projects. The programme is largely an apprenticeship, so it is important for each student to join a project and to work closely with an advisor. Each PhD student works coaching Undergraduates Studies Validation applicants in the Discipline; a second instructional assignment, in either a professional or an academic specialty, is also required for the degree.
PsychologyPsychology is a discipline involving the scientific study of mental functions and behaviour. Occasionally it also relies on symbolic interpretation and critical analysis, although these traditions are less pronounced than in other social sciences such as sociology. Psychologists study such phenomena as perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behaviour and interpersonal relationships. Some, especially depth psychologists, also study the unconscious mind.
Psychological knowledge is applied to various spheres of human activity, including issues related to everyday life—such as family, education and employment—and to the treatment of mental health problems. Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behaviour, while also exploring the underlying physiological and neurological processes. Psychology includes many sub-fields of study and applications concerned with such areas as human development, sports, health, industry, media and law. Psychology incorporates research from the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities.
PhD programs in Psychology at the SSc provide training and education with the objective of producing graduates with the capacity to conduct research independently at a high level of originality and quality. By the end of the degree program, the PhD student ought to be capable of conceiving, designing and carrying to completion a research program without supervision.
The purpose of the PhD is to advance knowledge and/or the application of knowledge through the preparation of a substantial piece of work which represents a significant contribution to a particular field of study.
The Discipline accepts students in doctoral degrees by research in a large range of discipline areas that relate to priority research themes, namely: Rural human services; rural and population health; rural nursing; rural social work; community and social development; rural nursing; regional and economic development; regional business development; arid lands technology; family and domestic violence.
SociologySociology is a branch of the social sciences that uses systematic methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge about human social structure and activity, sometimes with the goal of applying such knowledge to the pursuit of social welfare. Its subject matter ranges from the micro level of face-to-face interaction to the macro level of societies at large.
Sociology is a broad discipline in terms of both methodology and subject matter. Its traditional focuses have included social relations, social stratification, social interaction, culture and deviance, and its approaches have included both qualitative and quantitative research techniques. As much of what humans do fits under the category of social structure or social activity, sociology has gradually expanded its focus to such far-flung subjects as the study of economic activity, health disparities, and even the role of social activity in the creation of scientific knowledge. The range of social scientific methods has also been broadly expanded. The "cultural turn" of the 1970s and 1980s brought more humanistic interpretive approaches to the study of culture in sociology. Conversely, the same decades saw the rise of new mathematically rigorous approaches, such as social network analysis.
SSc research in Sociology covers a range of areas including art and literature, deviance, education, the sociology of governance and regulation, theories of industrial society, health, illness and psychiatry, interpersonal relations, knowledge, politics, ‘race’ and ethnicity, class, religion, values in society, childhood and youth culture, the body and society, social aspects of the life sciences and bio-medicine, science and technology, the expansion of capitalism on a world scale, urban studies, gender and the sexual division of labour, and culture and communications.
With a world-class reputation for creativity and innovation and a commitment to encouraging inter-disciplinary collaboration, the SSc provides researchers with a unique intellectual environment in which to pursue their studies. Whilst benefiting from the wide-ranging resources of the SDS, the SSc also offers all the advantages of a small, campus-based College.
As a result of research work performed at the SSc and of research papers produced by students under Studies Validation process who have been supervised and guided at SSc through their research work, a great deal of high quality research publications have been fostered, including over 40,000 humanities and social sciences related written papers (up to December 2008), which can be accessed and downloaded by our students from the IIU Press and Research Centre’s Database.
IIU Press Published Books and Monographs
Including research articles and evidence based relevant findings from Faculty which have been qualified as outstanding and, in collaboration with the Amsterdam University Press; the World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology and with the UNESCO, SSc actively participates with the IIU Press and Research Centre on publishing three state-of-the-art academic and scientific journals: the Graduate Journal of Social Science (GJSS), the Journal of Social Sciences (JSS) and the International Journal of Multicultural Societies.
Additionally, cutting-edge world class research works produced by Faculty are published in yearly editions of SSc sections at the SDS Journal and of the IIU-EU Journal.
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