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The Department of French and Italian offers a Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program leading to an advanced certificate. The program was organized in 1968–69 to promote interest in the field and to facilitate the exchange of ideas among scholars working in that area, not only at the University of Pittsburgh, but also at other colleges and universities in the Greater Pittsburgh area. To these ends, the program organizes lectures and publishes an informational newsletter. The program also sponsors an undergraduate certificate program in the field. Contact Information
- Director: Kellie Robertson
- Main Office: 1328 Cathedral of Learning
- 412-624-5220
- Fax: 412-624-6263
- E-mail: losagio@pitt.edu
- www.pitt.edu/~medren
Additional information regarding the graduate program may be requested from the University of Pittsburgh, Department of French and Italian, Graduate Secretary, 1328 Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. Phone: 412-624-5220. Fax: 412-624-6263.
For admission, students already holding an MA will declare to the major advisor in the department in which they plans to obtain a conventional PhD their intention to work for the additional Certificate of Advanced Study in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. This declaration of intent must normally be made during the first year of students’ work toward the PhD.
By the end of the first year of study the student should acquire or have a working knowledge of Latin in addition to the modern languages required by the student’s home department.
Students in the program are eligible for assistantships and fellowships in the department of their specialization. Application forms are available from the various departments.
The Certificate of Advanced Study in Medieval and Renaissance Studies has language proficiency, course work, and research requirements as detailed below: Language Proficiency
Proficiency in Latin and at least one modern language is required. Proficiency will ordinarily be interpreted as the ability to conduct research projects involving use of material in those languages. Language examinations will be administered by members of the committee from the appropriate language department and will usually consist of the translation of critical essays in the modern languages and, in the case of Latin, of a selection from an appropriate document in medieval or Renaissance Latin.
Course Work
Six approved courses or seminars (18 credits), ordinarily in three departments, are required. The courses will not be selected heterogeneously but will follow a definite pattern of interrelated studies. For instance, a student majoring in French may wish to pursue an interest in the Norman dialect by taking a course in the Department of English on the effect of the Norman invasion on the development of the English language and literature; the same student may also take a course from the Department of History of Art and Architecture on Anglo-Norman architecture. Four of those courses will be taken in at least two departments other than the student’s major.
Research Requirements
A research paper in medieval and Renaissance studies is required of all students working for the certificate. The paper will reflect the student’s multidisciplinary interests. The director of the research project may either be the major advisor or a member of the committee who would be professionally qualified to advise the student; for example, a paper on Anglo-Norman architecture would certainly be directed by a member of the Department of History of Art and Architecture. The paper will be defended before an interdisciplinary colloquium and also may fulfill degree requirements.
Upon completion of these requirements, the major advisor will place a report on special nature and interests of the student’s work (for example, medieval and Anglo-Norman culture or the interrelationship of theology and literature in Renaissance Germany) in the student’s file. The report can serve as a supplement to the student’s professional job placement.
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