The institute consists of two departments: philosophy and art history.

Since the winter semester 2016/17, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences has established a DFG Research Training Group, "Cultures of Critique. Forms, Media, Effects", in which the IPK is significantly involved (speaker: Prof. Dr. Beate Söntgen).

The Institute is also represented at the Leuphana Institute of Advanced Studies for Culture and Society (co-director: Prof. Dr. Susanne Leeb) and is significantly involved in the Center for Critical Studies (speaker: Dr. Ben Trott).

With the Lichtenberg Professorship (Prof. Dr. Lynn Rother), funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, Leuphana University has the first permanent full professorship dedicated entirely to questions of provenance research, looted art, and restitution.

The Kunstraum, which is connected to the Institute of Philosophy and Art History, offers a close practical connection to contemporary art and its actors.