Overview
Privately endowed, the Johns Hopkins University was founded in 1876 as the first American educational institution committed to the university idea of giving its students and faculty the freedoms of choice and opportunity that are necessary for learning and creativity to flourish. It remains committed to this idea. Johns Hopkins is a small coeducational university. The Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering are located on the Homewood campus in north Baltimore. In order to preserve close intellectual association, the University community and the student-faculty ratio are intentionally small. Currently enrolled are approximately 4,000 undergraduate, 1,500 graduate, and 140 postdoctoral students. The faculty numbers about 380.

Approximately 375-450 men and women representing a wide range of interests and a variety of backgrounds are selected each year for graduate study by the various academic departments. Students come from all areas of the United States as well as from many other countries. Approximately 40 percent of the graduate students are women.

The Location and Community
The campus is in a residential neighborhood of both single-family homes and apartments, located 4 miles from downtown Baltimore. There are churches, restaurants, drugstores, grocery stores, and other shops nearby. The 140-acre tree-lined Homewood campus offers a wide variety of areas for gatherings and recreation. Generally, graduate students find that their social as well as their academic lives tend to center on their departments. The three most widely used buildings are the Milton S. Eisenhower Library, the Ralph S. O’Connor Recreation Center, and the Hopkins Union, the University student center.

Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
Degree programs leading to the Ph.D. are offered in the Humanities Center and in the Departments of Anthropology, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Biophysics, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Classics, Cognitive Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Economics, Electrical Engineering, English, German, History, History of Art, History of Science and Technology, Materials Science and Engineering, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Near Eastern Studies, Philosophy, Physics and Astronomy, Political Science, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Romance Languages and Literatures, and Sociology.

A degree program leading to the M.A. and M.F.A. is offered in the Writing Seminars. Master’s degree programs are also offered in the Departments of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Civil Engineering, Classics, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Geography and Environmental Engineering, German, History, History of Art, Information Security Institute, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Public Policy, and Sociology.

Emphasis is placed on mastery of a field of study and on creative research. There are no formal schoolwide requirements measured in numbers of courses or credits. Each program is planned in consultation with a department or committee after reviewing the individual’s attainments and areas of interest.

Specific requirements for the Ph.D. include a minimum of two consecutive semesters of registration as a full-time, resident graduate student; certification by a department or program committee that all departmental or committee requirements have been fulfilled; a dissertation approved by at least 2 referees appointed by the department or committee; and a Graduate Board oral examination.

The continuing process of education and research in the University setting requires involvement beyond the formal preparation for a degree. Postdoctoral training, therefore, is an integral part of many departmental programs.

Facilities & Resources
Major research activities and laboratories are integral to the Hopkins experience. The Milton S. Eisenhower Library houses the University’s major collections. The quality and quantity of its collections and services make it one of the country’s foremost research libraries. Other important Hopkins libraries include the Welch Medical Library, the Peabody Institute Library, and the Library of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The Homewood campus is also home to the Space Telescope Science Institute, administered for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. Collaboration between the Institute and Hopkins scientists makes the University a world center for astronomical research. The Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute is an interdisciplinary research center devoted to the study of neural mechanisms of higher mental functions, with emphasis on perception. Through the study of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, computational neuroscience, neurology, and psychology, critical questions regarding the brain and how it operates are addressed.

The Information Security Institute (ISI) in the Whiting School of Engineering is widely recognized for research and education programs addressing such areas as applied cryptography, network security, biometrics, privacy, and policy, particularly regarding critical applications to electronic voting systems and health/medicine. ISI’s research and graduate degree programs have fostered an international reputation as a consumer advocate responsibly exposing security flaws and risks related to insecure products.

Expenses and Aid
The matriculation fee, a one-time charge payable at the time of entrance, is $500. Tuition is approximately $35,600; however, most graduate students receive a full or partial tuition fellowship.

Financial Aid:
Most graduate students receive either full or partial fellowships, which include a tuition waiver as well as a stipend or salary. Also, there are fellowship awards made directly to students by government agencies, private foundations, and business and industrial corporations. Other aid, in the form of long-term student loans and employment, is administered by the Office of Student Financial Services. Notification of awards is made no later than the first week of April, and recipients are expected to respond to the offer no later than April 15.

Housing/Living Expenses:
Room and board costs are about $10,925 for single students for a nine-month period. However, room and board costs vary depending on proximity to campus and choice of living arrangements. Other costs are books and supplies (up to $3,500 per year) and travel expenses. All students are required to have health insurance either through the University or through a private insurer.

How to Apply
Requests for applications and literature should be made to the department of the University in which the student desires to do graduate work. The completed application form, transcripts, letters of recommendation, and other supporting materials that any particular department requires are to be sent directly to that department. All applicants are advised to submit recent scores from the General Test of the Graduate Record Examinations. Although in most cases applications for fellowships must be made no later than January 15, application deadlines vary among departments; therefore, students should contact the appropriate department for details.

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