Best Universities for Masters certificate program in Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Medieval Studies Certificate Student Shaun Cason Awarded Sachs Scholarship.

Image: Visualizing the History of Pandemics, Visual Capitalist.

In partnership with Climate Change and History Research Initiative and with the support of the Humanities Council, the Program in Medieval Studies launches a new seminar series that examines the historical context and the social, cultural, and environmental impact of pandemics through the ages.

The series will be introduced on Thursday May, 14 by John Haldon.

The Certificate Program in Global Medieval and Renaissance Studies is designed for graduate students who are already enrolled in a PhD program at Penn. The Certificate Program creates an opportunity for a broad study of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Early Modern periods (ca. 500–1700 AD) that involves global and interdisciplinary training. This approach expands not only students’ knowledge base but also their understanding of theory and practice and, in turn, increases their professional opportunities.

The Certificate’s emphasis on disciplinary and geographic diversity facilitates cutting-edge research. It is designed to train specialists who are based in a traditional discipline (e.g., art, history, literature, music, area studies, classical studies) but who wish to work across disciplinary boundaries and tap into diverse theoretical approaches and methodological practices of other fields. It thus enables the historian to draw on visual and material culture, the musicologist to draw on literary approaches, and so on. In addition, the certificate program compels students to gain expertise outside of the geographic ambit of their primary field (e.g. Arabic, Anglo-Saxon, French, South Asia, Byzantium). This allows them to place their knowledge in an international setting and prepares them to conduct innovative research on the global connections and networks of the pre-modern world.

The Certificate Program thus enables students to develop research and teaching profiles that make them more attractive and versatile candidates for jobs, many of which welcome disciplinary and geographic breadth and diversity.

The Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies draws upon the considerable strengths of the cooperating departments (Art, Art History and Visual Studies, Classical Studies, English, German Studies, History, Music, Philosophy, Religion, Romance Studies, and the Program in Literature), offering the graduate student a rich interdisciplinary approach. A participating student is enrolled in one of these departments and fulfills the Ph.D. requirements for that discipline while taking a program of electives which will advance interdisciplinary competence in a medieval or Renaissance area and attaining a certificate in Interdisciplinary Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Important resources for study are the strong holdings of the Duke libraries (including several special collections for medieval and Renaissance studies), access to the programs of the Folger Institute at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Graduate Colloquium, as well as fellowships and other support for dissertation work in the field.

The Medieval Studies Cluster is designed to prepare students to succeed as scholars in this challenging interdisciplinary field.

Aside from disciplinary knowledge in history, literature, musicology, etc., medievalists must also learn specialized skills such as paleography, archival research methods, liturgical chant and dating, and the use of often-recondite manuscript catalogues and bibliographic resources (both digital and print). Above all, they must learn languages. Latin is indispensable, and students must also learn appropriate medieval vernaculars, other classical languages (Greek, Hebrew, Arabic) as needed for certain fields, and modern languages such as French, German, and Italian, since access to European scholarship is vital within this international research community.

Richard Kieckhefer, Professor, Religious Studies, History, and Art History.

Barbara Newman, Professor, English, Religious Studies, and Classics.

David Shyovitz, Associate Professor, History and Jewish Studies.

See Medieval Studies Requirements for specific courses and procedures needed to complete this program.

Many cluster events, such as visiting lecturers and conferences, are open to all members of the University. Cluster seminars are open to graduate students across the University. The Medieval Colloquium schedule can be viewed here.

Past participants have come from the following programs:.

Prospective students interested in participating in this program should indicate their interest when they ir respective graduate programs.

The MEMS program organizes the University’s extraordinarily rich resources in medieval and early modern history, history of art and architecture, archaeology, history, literature, linguistics, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, religious studies, music, and the history of science and technology into an interdisciplinary and often collaborative community where we can share work, information, and interests.

MEMS offers graduate students a number of opportunities: a Graduate Certificate Program, funding for travel and research, ongoing colloquia and interdisciplinary workshops, the MEMS lecture series, and several conferences each year. Graduate students with MEMS interests are always welcome to participate in our various programs, and we make a point to arrange opportunities for conversation and intellectual exchange between our graduate students and visiting scholars. Since MEMS is a voluntary affiliation, you need not be formally admitted to the Graduate Certificate Program to participate in our events. Your interest is the only requirement!

For requirements and follow the Certificate Program link.

Visiting lectures, colloquiua, and conferences are often coordinated to bear upon the topic of a given term’s proseminar. This course is offered under two or departments (appropriate to the topic and disciplinary approach) and welcomes both Certificate students and other interested upper-level students.

The MEMS proseminar is usually our students’ first experience in creating an interdisciplinary intellectual community. At the other end of the graduate student experience, MEMS 898 offers a similar model of interdisciplinary work for students at the dissertation-writing stage. The Dissertation Colloquium provides advanced students in MEMS an opportunity to present their work to one another in a seminar that brings together doctoral candidates from potentially all the MEMS disciplines. The work one presents may be dissertation chapters (or parts thereof), conference papers, or scholarly articles to be submitted for publication. In addition to reading and responding to one another’s work, the seminar will also consider methodological and disciplinary issues of common interest to members of the seminar. MEMS 898 counts toward the requirements of the Certificate in Medieval and Early Modern Studies, but you do not need to be admitted to the Certificate Program to take the course. The Dissertation Colloquium may be repeated for up to six credits. This is the only MEMS colloquium you can also take for graduate course credit.

These groups are self-organized by the participants, have an ongoing core membership, and meet regularly throughout the academic year.

The Newberry Consortium is a key source of funding for MEMS graduate students. Typical grants are up to $250 for travel to Newberry programs and $500 for travel to Folger programs in special circumstances, larger grants may be possible if funds are available. To for a Newberry Center for Renaissance Studies Grant, please contact the current MEMS director.

MEMS awards Summer Travel Research Grants to graduate students through an application process that commences early each Winter term. MEMS can offer such grants due to the generous gifts the program receives, and also thanks to support from the Rackham School of Graduate Studies, which has provided $5,000 for this purpose for the next three years (2016-2019). For further information for this and other grants, follow the Funding link.

Take a set of interlocking courses in literature, philosophy, and religion, music, the fine arts, the history of science and the history of society.

As a Dual Degree Candidate here at UMass, studying both History and Anthropology, the Medieval Studies Certificate provides me with ample access and opportunities to explore subjects not commonly taught in either of my disciplines. Further, the Certificate bolsters my work in the Political Science minor, where courses in pre-modern political thought are often difficult to find, and also for my Religious Studies Certificate, where, of course, the medieval world forms a crucial portion of discussions on cross-cultural religious exchange, theology, and so on. The flexibility and breadth of the Certificate allow for anyone to take a myriad of courses in several different departments. Regardless, the options develop and change every semester, with new and promising courses being offered all the time! Though it may be the most beneficial to you if you are studying History, Art History, or similar subjects, this Certificate is open to anyone and everyone.

I first became interested in the Medieval Studies Certificate because in my time as a history major, my absolute favorite classes to take (as well as one of my favorite eras to study in general) revolved around the Middle Ages. I think that it so easy to forget that the people living in this era were real people who were in a lot of ways similar to people today, and diving deeper into the actual history is such a simple way to remind ourselves of that.

As an Art History student with a passion for medieval history and culture, the Medieval Studies certificate has been an amazing opportunity for me to expand my knowledge in my favorite subject. I first became interested in medieval history through the art of the period, but my participation in the certificate program opened my eyes to the wealth of information the medieval world that UMass and the Five Colleges have to offer. You can tailor the certificate to your interests based on the variety of classes offered each semester.

As a History major and member of the Commonwealth Honors College, I became interested in the Medieval Certificate because of my desire to study such a greatly interesting yet misunderstood time in history. Since the history major is so broad, the opportunity to take a majority of my classes related to medieval subjects, made me really happy. My interest in languages opened doors to study medieval literature and prepare for my senior thesis. The medieval certificate here has allowed me to dive deeper into my interests and prepare myself for the path to graduate school. The certificate is exceptionally flexible and the breadth of study allows you to take several different subjects like Old English, Italian, and Judaic studies to name a few. The department also holds lots of great seminars and speakers across the Five Colleges which is a great way to connect with other medievalists in the community!

The Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (CMEMS) at the University of Colorado at Boulder is founded on the convictions that the period from c. 400 to c. 1800, conceived in a global context, is a dynamic cultural continuum and ever-evolving system; that the study of both the medieval and early modern periods in tandem sheds new light on each; and that the unity and diversity of the premodern world can be understood and appreciated only from an interdisciplinary perspective. Medieval and Early Modern Studies therefore crosses boundaries of period, nation, language and discipline, and the Center's prime function is to facilitate and encourage interdepartmental study and teaching.

The purpose of the Graduate certificate program in Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) is to enhance the interdisciplinary preparation and professionalization of graduate students in a broad spectrum of departments in, or allied to, the Humanities, as well as in the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (SLLC). The certificate provides an opportunity at KU for graduate students to add a concentration in Medieval Studies, Early Modern Studies, or a combination of both.

?HA 511 Seminar in Northern Renaissance Art: Collecting.

This course will examine painting, manuscripts, metalwork, tapestry, ivories, prints, and ephemeral arts—such as the material culture of feasts or the entry processions of rulers into cities—in order to gain insight into the place of the arts in fourteenth-fifteenth century late medieval and Renaissance culture in Northern Europe. In addition to discussion of noble, clerical, and civic patronage and of artistic style, participants in this course will consider such additional topics as artistic production and the development of the art market.

?HA 706 935 Seminar in Northern Renaissance Art: Collecting.

This seminar will examine how collections were made, valued, and viewed in Northern Europe in the 14th-16th centuries. We will consider painted altarpieces, tapestries, exquisite manuscripts, printed books, monumental sculpture, and precious goldsmith work within broad contexts. Among the topics we will consider are the ways collections were acquired (whether received as gifts, inherited, or commissioned) the ritual contexts in which collections ranging from secular metalwork to church treasuries were enjoyed the relationships between collecting and Renaissance self-fashioning and displays of magnificence agency in the production of collections, and the organization of collections. Through the critical reading of images and objects, historical accounts, and scholarly literature, we will come to a better understanding of the role of artistic collections, collecting, and collectors in late medieval and Renaissance northern European society.

The certificate is awarded to M.A. or Ph.D. students who successfully complete 4 graduate-level courses across disciplines (12 credits total) drawn from a list of available courses. Coursework must be approved by a MEMS advisor and include at least one course chosen from outside the student department. No directed readings or independent studies will be accepted, but rarely-offered courses not listed below may be considered for approval. The certificate cannot be awarded retroactively application and enrollment in the certificate by the start of the final course to be counted is strongly advised.

A survey of the literature of medieval England (in translation). Capstone course. Prerequisite: Prior completion of at least one 300 or 400-level English course.

This course examines the art of Europe from the Early Christian era through the Romanesque period, up to 1200. Architecture, sculpture, manuscript illumination, metalwork and painting are explored in relation to their political, religious and social contexts. Graduate students can expect to complete additional reading and writing assignments. Prerequisite: HA 100 or HA 150, or permission of the instructor.

This course examines the art of Europe during the Gothic period, from 1140-1500. Architecture, sculpture, manuscript illumination, metalwork, painting and furniture are explored in relation to their political, religious and social contexts. Graduate students can expect to complete additional reading and writing assignments. Prerequisite: HA 100 or HA 150, or permission of instructor.

HA 510 Medieval Manuscripts and Early Printed Books.

Students study the history of the book from 300 to 1500 A.D., concentrating on the role of visual imagery in books and the place of books in medieval and renaissance culture. In addition to discussing the relation between text and image, and studying the stylistic contexts for ancient, medieval, and Renaissance illumination and early woodcut illustration, participants in this course consider such additional topics as methods of book production, the development of cycles of illustration for religious and secular books, and the relationship between manuscripts and early printed books. Lectures and discussion are supplemented by visits to the fine collection of manuscripts, printed books, and facsimiles in the Kenneth Spencer Research Library. Prerequisite: An introductory course in Western art history at the college level, or consent of the instructor.

HA 593 Special Study in Medieval Art: _____.

This course is designed for the study of special topics in medieval art, including courses taken through study abroad. May be repeated for credit if content varies. Same topic may not be taken at both the 300 and 500-levels. Prerequisite: An appropriate introductory-level course in art history, or consent of the instructor.

HA 594 Special Study in Renaissance Art: _____.

This course is designed for the study of special topics in Renaissance art, including courses taken through study abroad. May be repeated for credit if content varies. Same topic may not be taken at both the 300 and 500-levels. Prerequisite: An appropriate introductory-level course in art history, or consent of the instructor.

HA 920 Seminar in Early Medieval Art: _____.

HA 925 Seminar in Late Medieval Art: _____.

HA 935 Seminar in Northern Renaissance Art: _____.

This course examines the development and evolution of the crusade as well as the history of the crusading movement from the 11th to the 15th centuries. Through an analysis of documents from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim perspectives, this course aims to consider the Crusades in the broadest possible context. One of the key questions to be addressed in this course is: how did these expeditions to the Holy Land both reflect and influence cross-cultural relations in the medieval Mediterranean World?

The civilization of Medieval Europe at its height (1100-1350) its subsequent disintegration and transformation.

An introduction to the impact on the British Isles of the Reformation and Renaissance the development of the Tudor state Parliament the Stuart monarchy the Anglican counter-reformation civil war the Cromwellian experiment. Prerequisite: A prior history course, or permission of the instructor.

Course examines the history of Japan from the end of the ancient period (c. 1200 AD) through the medieval era (approximately 1573). Issues covered include the formation and destruction of the Kamakura and Muromachi warrior governments, medieval religious life and culture. Writing assignments provide students with opportunities to gain familiarity with historical methods for analysis and to strengthen their written expression. Not open to students who have taken HIST EALC 586.

This course will engage with recent scholarship on the Renaissance and Reformation, the Civil War and the English Republic.

HIST 856 Colloquium in Modern European History I Renaissance to the French Revolution.

This course will concentrate upon a number of selected topics in the history of Europe between the Renaissance and the French Revolution. Emphasis will be placed upon certain problems within this period and the recent historiography that deals with them. The first in a sequence of colloquia in Modern European History. Required for European history graduate students and students majoring in other fields whose secondary fields correspond to this time frame.

This course will concentrate upon a number of selected topics in early modern European history. Emphasis will be placed upon certain problems within this period and the recent historiography that deals with them. The second in a sequence of colloquia in Modern European History. Required for European history graduate students and students majoring in other fields whose secondary fields correspond to this time frame.

Introduction to the techniques of reading, dating, and localizing medieval Latin manuscripts.

A student must be in good standing with their graduate degree program in order to participate in the certificate program. A graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher is required for admission. The application process entails completing the application, payment of the $30 application fee, and submitting materials required for the Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) Certificate:.

A personal statement declaring your interest in Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) and its relationship to your graduate course of study and or career objectives.

Non-KU students or KU Alumni must have a previously completed advanced degree in an applicable field with a graduate GPA of 3.0 of higher. The application process entails completing the application, submitting materials required for the Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) Certificate:.

Two letters of recommendation from persons familiar with your academic work or potential for graduate study.

Official transcripts from any institutions where coursework related to study in Medieval and Early Modern Studies was completed.

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Board of Regents approves departmental name change in German studies.

44 nationally ranked graduate programs. —U.S. News World Report.

The Center certificate program in Medieval Studies is the only program of its kind in the greater D.C. area. It is designed to offer students a broad experience in various components of medieval civilization, providing both perspective and tools for specialized research.

The Medieval West II. Byzantine and Orthodox Studies III. The Islamic World.

The program of 15 hours of academic credit is based on an interdisciplinary curriculum that can satisfy the needs and interest of students in a variety of scholarly fields related to the study of the medieval period, and provide them with concentrated and carefully supervised opportunities for graduate level instruction, which may serve as an entry point for a traditional degree program or as an abbreviated course of study serving professional or personal interests.

Students who are currently enrolled at graduate programs in other academic fields at Catholic University or elsewhere and wish to complete additional graduate training and earn a separate credential in a second teaching or research field and thus enhance their chances on the academic job market .

The certificate can serve as an additional credential of interdisciplinary expertise in Medieval Studies for students pursuing a degree program in a traditional discipline and improve their opportunities for employment and admission to competitive graduate programs.

The program provides special graduate qualification, without comprehensive examinations or thesis, requiring only course work over a minimum of two semesters.

It provides a wide variety of courses, which enables students to acquire expertise both in the content areas of the three tracks and in relevant skills related to the field.

It provides strong interdisciplinary training for students who may ultimately choose to enroll in Catholic University own graduate programs.

Course work consists of 15 credit-hours (i.e., five courses) at graduate level (based on a list of approved courses of all participating schools and departments).

It permits current students of other Catholic University graduate programs to double-count relevant courses (as is possible when a certificate program is combined with a degree program).

The certificate program does not allow for transfer credit from other institutions. Graduate credit earned as part of the certificate may be transferred into master and doctoral programs (at Catholic University or elsewhere) upon request if approved by those degree programs.

The certificate may be pursued either part-time or full-time, either as a candidate for a graduate degree at Catholic University or as a non-degree certificate student (ND-CERT).

The Medieval WestEnrollees select five approved graduate courses with a focus on the medieval West from the following three categories, choosing at least one course from each.

(A) History and Social Structures:Courses in any aspect of western medieval history (e.g., social, political, institutional, economic, legal, cultural, gender studies, etc.).

(B) Thought and Worship:Courses in medieval religions, theology, philosophy, or liturgy.

(C) Cultural and Artistic Expressions:Courses in medieval literatures, languages, art, architecture, music, or material culture.

Byzantine and Orthodox StudiesEnrollees select five approved graduate courses from the following two categories, choosing at least one course from each:.

(A) History and Social Structures:Courses in Byzantine history and in the history of the Christian Near East.

(B) Thought, Worship, Culture, and the Arts:Courses in eastern patristic theology, eastern liturgy, ancient late antique Greek philosophy, and Byzantine art, as well as approved advanced Greek courses.

The Islamic WorldEnrollees select five approved graduate courses from the following three categories, choosing at least one course from each:.

(A) History and Social Structures:Courses in any aspect of the history of the Islamic world and the Christian Near East.

(B) Thought and Worship:Courses in medieval philosophy, religions, theology, or liturgy.

(C) Cultural and Artistic Expressions:Courses in medieval literatures and languages of the Islamic world and the Christian Near East.

List of approved courses:A list of certificate courses is published prior to the beginning of each semester based on current graduate course offers in qualifying fields of study.