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Medieval and early modern culture was expressed in a rich confluence of visual, musical, theological, and literary production. The Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program draws upon the considerable resources of Columbia University (including Butler Library’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library), offering the ambitious student an opportunity to consider the middle ages and the renaissance as an integrated whole. The following departments are members of the GSAS interdepartmental committee on medieval and renaissance studies: Art History and Archaeology, Classics, East Asian Languages and Cultures, English and Comparative Literature, French and Romance Philology, History, Italian, Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures, Music, Philosophy, Religion, Slavic Languages, and Spanish and Portuguese.

The Certificate in Medieval and Renaissance Studies

The Certificate in Medieval and Renaissance Studies is granted by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences on the recommendation of the Steering Committee of the Interdepartmental Committee on Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Candidates for the certificate declare their candidacy after admission to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and meet with the chair(s) of the Interdepartmental Committee, who will assign one of its members as an adviser. We recommend that candidates declare their interest as early as possible in their coursework, but a student can be considered for admission to the certificate program at any point in his or her graduate career. Candidates should discuss their programs of certificate study with their advisers each term.

Requirements

1. Either, for those who enter the Graduate School with the B.A. or B.S., the completion of the requirements for the M.A. degree in the candidate's department; or, for those who enter the Graduate School with an M.A. from another institution or with academic achievements that qualify for two terms of advanced standing, the completion of the requirements for the M.A. or M.Phil. degree in the candidate's department.

2. Eighteen (18) points in medieval / renaissance coursework beyond the requirements for the M.A. or M.Phil. degree in the candidate's department, twelve (12) of these points to be taken outside the candidate's department. The 18 points can include courses taken at any other institution in the greater New York area Medieval Consortium (City University, Fordham, New York University, Princeton, and Rutgers). If the M.A. is from another institution, a maximum of six (6) points will be given for appropriate courses taken at another institution. In each academic year an effort will be made to identify an interdisciplinary course as a recommended component of these eighteen credits. The curriculum represents the joint effort of faculty members from more than one department, together with materials from more than one period or discipline.

3. Achievement of a satisfactory level in written translation from two foreign languages, including one the following: Arabic, ancient Greek. Hebrew, Latin (classical or medieval), or a medieval or renaissance vernacular. The standard will be that required by the candidate's department.

4. The completion of a paper with an interdisciplinary component in one of the courses taken for the twelve (12) points outside the candidate's home department, this to be assessed by a second reader as well as the course's instructor.

Courses of Instruction and Research