Students work closely with advisers from the ILA's core faculty of 14 and with a doctoral committee that may include professors not only from the ILA but also from the entire doctoral faculty of the University.
Students normally spend three years in course work.
The core courses include proseminars on interdisciplinary topics as well as workshops designed to enhance the students' skills in professional writing, research design, and teaching. The rest of the program of study is designed by each student in consultation with his or her adviser and faculty committee and typically includes both ILA seminars and courses offered in other departments. In addition to course requirements, students write an interdisciplinary essay in their first year, take comprehensive examinations upon the completion of course work, and write an interdisciplinary dissertation. Besides providing training intended to prepare college and university teachers, the ILA emphasizes the practice of public scholarship, urging students to consider broader uses to which their expertise may be put in the public sphere. In addition to teaching, graduates have found careers in administration, business, church work, curatorship, government, the media, public relations, and publishing.