Students of the Middle Ages at the Graduate School and University Center may undertake an interdisciplinary concentration in Medieval Studies available to anyone enrolled in the Ph.D. Program in Art History, Comparative Literature, English, French, Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures, History, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, or Theatre. Students who complete the requirements of the interdisciplinary concentration receive, when the Ph.D. in the major field is conferred, a Certificate in Medieval Studies.
The Certificate Program provides doctoral students with the opportunity to study the Middle Ages within the kind of broad and multidisciplinary framework that is particularly appropriate to medieval studies. It offers training in skills, such as paleography, that are important to all medievalists, and an introduction to the central scholarly issues facing medievalists today. A student organization maintains a library of books and journals of interest to medievalists in the Pearl Kibre Medieval Study, a room that provides students of the Middle Ages with a unique haven for private and group study, as well as for talks by students, faculty, and visitors, and for social gatherings. Certificate Program conferences and colloquia bring scholars from around the world to the Graduate Center.
Through the New York City Doctoral Consortium, students at the Graduate Center may enroll in courses at Columbia University, Fordham University, and New York University. The New York City Doctoral Consortium in Medieval Studies sponsors an annual colloquium for graduate students from the four consortial universities. We also work closely with the Medieval Club of New York, a citywide association of medievalists that presents monthly lectures on medieval topics. The Graduate School and University Center is located within a short walk of the Pierpont Morgan Library, with its world-renowned collection of medieval manuscripts. Proximity to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters also makes New York an ideal venue for medieval studies.
The Medieval Studies Certificate Program opposes the appropriation of medievalist work to racist ends. We endorse the statement “Medievalists Respond to Charlottesville” (at http://www.themedievalacademyblog.org/medievalists-respond-to-charlottesville/).
