The mission of Integrated Liberal Studies (ILS) is to provide an integrated exploration of the great themes of human inquiry and expression in scientific, literary, political, economic, historical and artistic thought. The ILS curriculum offers a set of related courses specially tailored to meet the breadth requirements of the College of Letters & Science. ILS draws exemplary, dynamic faculty from departments across campus to create courses that challenge students with a rigorous program of interdisciplinary study emphasizing critical thinking and judgment rather than passive absorption of information. Although these courses may be taken as single electives, the purpose of the program is to counter the fragmentation of undergraduate education by providing a common ground of learning.

Because ILS courses are interdisciplinary, students are encouraged to make connections between the various subject areas that comprise the ILS curriculum. Students encounter the relations between literature and the arts; science, technology, and philosophy; and political, economic, and social thought. The content of the curriculum has been developed in the belief that historical perspective is required for a full understanding of contemporary issues. Courses numbered 201-206 progress from historical to contemporary topics in each of the three core areas. Those numbered 250 and above cover interdisciplinary special topics in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, including "Magical Realism," "Modern Jewish Thought," and "Machiavelli and His World." ILS also includes a course (ILS 200 Critical Thinking and Expression) to sharpen communication and research skills necessary for college work. This course satisfies the university's Communications B requirement. ILS/​LACIS  367 The Literature of Migration and the Migrant Experience in the Americas fulfills the university's ethnic studies requirement. ILS 400 Capstone Integration Seminar, a senior capstone seminar addressing an interdisciplinary topic, serves as the culmination of the ILS curriculum and is required in order to complete the ILS certificate.

How to Get in

Certificate Declaration Requirements

Students are eligible to declare the ILS Certificate at any point in their undergraduate career, and there are no prerequisites for declaring. Students should declare as early as possible in order to plan the required coursework. Students are encouraged to meet with the Integrated Liberal Studies academic advisor to discuss certificate requirements and ensure it fits with their academic goals.

Students who are ready to declare the certificate now may do so via the ILS Website.

Requirements

The certificate in Integrated Liberal Studies consists of two Core ILS courses, one additional ILS course, another non-ILS course from an approved list, and the ILS Capstone Integration Seminar.   

A total of 15 credits are required, of which 6 are in Core ILS courses, 3 in Integrative Breadth, 3 in Integrative Diversity, and 3 in the Capstone Integration Seminar.

Core ILS courses 

Integrative Breadth

Integrative Diversity

Capstone Integration Seminar

 Residence & Quality of Work

• 2.000 GPA with all courses taken on graded basis
• 8 credits in the certificate, in residence

Certificate Completion Requirement

This undergraduate certificate must be completed concurrently with the student’s undergraduate degree. Students cannot delay degree completion to complete the certificate.

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify and explain how people make meaning across times, cultures, media, and disciplines.
2. Critically analyze diverse approaches to how people make meaning in the past and present.
3. Recognize and synthesize diverse types of knowledge and disciplinary approaches to how people make meaning.
4. Formulate new questions about and integrate new approaches to how people make meaning.

Advising and Careers

Academic Advising

The Integrated Liberal Studies (ILS) academic advisor can help you create a meaningful course plan and stay on track as you complete the certificate requirements. We recommend that you connect with the ILS advisor as early as possible. The advisor is available to consult on a variety of topics, including declaring the certificate, course selection, exploring how ILS courses fit with breadth and general education degree requirements, campus resources, and getting the most from your Wisconsin Experience. 

Contact Information

Laura Bradley
Integrated Liberal Studies Academic Advisor
lsbradley@wisc.edu
201 Meiklejohn House
http://www.ils.wisc.edu

The Integrated Liberal Studies Program encourages certificate students to begin working on their career exploration and preparation soon after arriving on campus. We partner with SuccessWorks in the College of Letters & Science to help you leverage the academic skills learned in your major and liberal arts degree, explore and try out different career paths, participate in internships, prepare for the job search and/or graduate school applications, and network with professionals in the field (alumni and employers).

Letters & Science graduates are in high demand by employers and graduate programs. It is important to us that our students are career ready at the time of graduation, and we are committed to your success.

L&S Career Resources

Every L&S major opens a world of possibilities.  SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Science helps students turn the academic skills learned in their major, certificates, and other coursework into fulfilling lives after graduation, whether that means jobs, public service, graduate school or other career pursuits.

In addition to providing basic support like resume reviews and interview practice, SuccessWorks offers ways to explore interests and build career skills from their very first semester/term at UW all the way through graduation and beyond.

Students can explore careers in one-on-one advising, try out different career paths, complete internships, prepare for the job search and/or graduate school applications, and connect with supportive alumni and even employers in the fields that inspire them.

• SuccessWorks
• Set up a career advising appointment
• Enroll in a Career Course - a great idea for first- and second-year students:
  • INTER-LS 210 L&S Career Development: Taking Initiative (1 credit)
  • INTER-LS 215 Communicating About Careers (3 credits, fulfills Comm B General Education Requirement)
• Learn about internships and internship funding
  • INTER-LS 260 Internship in the Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Activate your Handshake account to apply for jobs and internships from 200,000+ employers recruiting UW-Madison students
• Learn about the impact SuccessWorks has on students' lives

People

Affiliated Faculty

Richard Avramenko, Professor of Political Science; Director of the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy

William Aylward, Professor of Classics; Herbert and Evelyn Howe Bascom Professor of Integrated Liberal Studies

Beatriz Botero, Lecturer of Integrated Liberal Studies

Karen Britland, Halls-Bascom Professor of English

Chad Goldberg, Professor of Sociology

Florence C. Hsia, Professor of History of Science; Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in the Arts and Humanities

Daniel Kapust, Professor of Political Science, Judith Hicks Stiehm Chair in Political Theory

Devin Kennedy, Assistant Professor of History

Timothy Lindstrom, Lecturer of Environmental Studies; Student Intern Program Manager for the Nelson Institute

Christopher Livanos, Professor, College of Letters and Sciences

Laura McClure, Halls-Bascom Professor of Classical Literature Studies

Grant A. Nelsestuen, Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities, College of Letters and Science; Professor of Classics

Adam Nelson, Professor of Educational Policy Studies and History; Senior Associate Dean for Academic Programs, School of Education

Kristin Phillips-Court, Associate Professor of Italian and Art History

Lucas Richert, Professor in the History of Pharmacy

Ulrich Rosenhagen, Lecturer of History; Director of the Center for Religion and Global Citizenry

Michelle Schwarze, Associate Professor of Political Science

Basil Tikoff, Professor of Structural Geology and Tectonics

Mike Vanden Heuvel, Professor of Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies

John Zumbrunnen, Professor of Political Science; Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning Administrative Staff

Staff

Karen Britland, Director of ILS

Laura Bradley, ILS Academic Advisor

Beth Shipman, Program Administrative Manager

Wisconsin Experience

"A small liberal arts EXPERIENCE within a great university" 

ILS is not only a certificate, but a community on campus.

“The University of Wisconsin needs programs like ILS to give students the indispensable liberal arts experience and I am happy that it was part of my experience here on campus." Brett Tietz (ILS graduate)

“I love that the history and literature I learn in my ILS courses makes me a better conversationalist.” Paul Sutherland (ILS graduate)

“I love ILS because there is so much to learn.  Through ILS I was able to trace the history of science from natural philosophy all the way up to Newtonian physics, and the impact of science on the contemporary art & literature.  I really enjoyed being able to study the humanities, and the insights these classes have provided me on the interaction between science and culture.  The program was a great way for me to study things that I am interested in, but are unrelated to my major, such as astronomy, geology, philosophy, literature, art history, geopolitics.”  Brad Glasco (ILS graduate)

“The main goal of ILS is to get its students to recognize how different subjects of knowledge connect with one another. Our student-led class in our ILS capstone attempted to accomplish this goal through the topic of tattoos. By reading articles and books on tattoos, witnessing a classmate receive a tattoo, interviewing veteran tattoo artists in the field, debating case studies, and discussing stigmas and stereotypes of tattoos, we wove together knowledge from history, psychology, sociology, criminology, philosophy, and art. My views about tattoos, and people who choose to get them, will be forever better informed. I will always remember my classmates and this capstone!” Ryan Fleming (ILS graduate) 

“Virtually every ILS class threatens to fundamentally change the way you see the world." Eric Schmidt, political science major

“Some of the best professors on campus teach ILS classes, and they love the program as much as the students!  How many other programs offer Aristophanes, Nietzsche and Jon Stewart in the same class?” Jeff Landow, English major

Resources and Scholarships

ILS offers multiple scholarship and award opportunities for declared certificate students.

Meiklejohn Travel Award

Up to $1500

Named for Alexander Meiklejohn, founder of the University of Wisconsin Experimental College (1927–32), the forerunner to the ILS program, this prize is intended to help support an ILS student in a university-sponsored or an independent program of education-centered travel or study abroad, taking place during the summer or academic year (or in the United States if the destination is remote from the student’s home or the campus).

Pooley Prize 

Up to $2,000 each (based on available funds)

Named for Professor Robert Pooley, the first chair of the Integrated Liberal Studies program (1948), this prize is given annually to outstanding ILS students on the basis of:

• academic achievement (GPA of at least 3.0 for the 3 preceding semesters),
• evidence of good character,
• student leadership in the ILS program, including involvement in extracurricular activities, and
• available for travel purposes relating to their ILS courses.

Ruth Knatz Memorial Prize

Up to $5,000 (based on available funds)

Named for Ruth Knatz Gross Wisnewsky and given by her husband, Edward Wisnewsky, this prize will be given only to a truly outstanding student who:

• is majoring in at least one humanities discipline (including history and history of science, but not social science or science); this means you may be double-majoring in one non-humanities major, but the other must be a humanities major,
• gives promise of making a valuable contribution to the humanities,
• has done exemplary work in their ILS courses,
• has achieved junior or senior standing, and
• has signed up for the certificate and plans to complete the ILS certificate program.