The core of Johns Hopkins, the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences is the direct descendant of the path-breaking university founded in 1876. Since its inception, the School has been guided by the conviction that the brightest young minds are best honed by professors who are as committed to inquiry and investigation as they are to teaching. Research lies at the heart of the Krieger School experience for its undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty members. The School holds a prominent place alongside top-flight U.S. research universities with double or triple the personnel, achieving such success by rigorous selectivity of both faculty members and students, and by carefully focused use of resources. While the School offers a full complement of the traditional majors, its flexible curriculum and its proximity to other Hopkins institutions also allow for interdisciplinary study in areas that today are growing up at the intersections of knowledge.
Graduate study stands as a top priority.
The School combines excellence with small size, which fosters close mentoring relationships between graduate students and their faculty advisors. The innovative Woodrow Wilson Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program is an initiative under which students compete for four-year grants that support independent research under the guidance of faculty mentors. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has selected Krieger School social scientists to conduct a four-year analysis of federal social policy reforms and their effects on families, especially children. The 1998 winner of the National Book Award for fiction, Alice McDermott, teaches creative writing. Reflecting the School's global reach, graduate students participate in their faculty advisor's investigations of ancient civilization on the banks of the River Nile.