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Medieval & Early Modern Studies

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Program in Medieval & Early Modern Studies is designed to allow M.A. students in English, Religion, and the Divinity School to broaden their knowledge of the medieval period and focus their studies on the medieval period. The certificate combines programmatic interdisciplinary coursework, training in the technical skills of medieval studies, and linguistic preparation.

Graduate Certificate

Our Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Program is designed to provide students with a competitive advantage in admission to doctoral programs. Students may be admitted to the MA Program when they are admitted to the graduate program in the department to which they apply by permission of the Directors or at any time during their first year.

Program Requirements

Students are required to take a minimum of four additional courses (12 semester credit hours) with a medieval and/or early modern focus, preferably as MA course offerings, though independent study and advanced undergraduate courses may be taken as well. Courses must cover two different disciplinary fields in addition to that of the candidate's home department. The graduate thesis must have a medieval and/or early modern focus, and the thesis committee should have at least two participating departments represented.

Certificate Completion

The Certificate will generally not require more time to complete than the host MA program. However, if a student does not complete the course work in the allotted time, fees may apply. Students are strongly encouraged to apply for extramural fellowships to study one or more summers at international sites where a medieval studies curriculum is available.

Program Opportunities

Students pursuing the Certificate may avail themselves of many activities and opportunities, including:

• The Medieval Studies lecture series
• The paper competition that rewards the winners with funding to the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University
• The Gordon A. Melson Graduate Student Award in Medieval Studies
• The medieval studies summer program at St. Peter's College, Oxford
• The annual Wake Forest Medieval Studies Student Society Conference
• The medieval section of the department's library in the Archie Ammons English Department Faculty Lounge
• Internships and fellowships for La corónica: A Journal of Medieval Spanish Language, Literature and Cultural Studies

Program Structure

Students in the program meet with an advisor each semester to work out the most efficient path towards fulfilling the certificate. This includes consultation in preparation for the MA thesis. A final mechanism is to request approval from the relevant departmental graduate committee to apply two of the courses taken toward completion for the MA degree toward the certificate program with the addition of relevant course-related materials.