Medieval & Renaissance Studies

The undergraduate major in Medieval and Renaissance studies provides interdisciplinary exposure to several liberal arts areas and encourages students’ in-depth study of more narrowly defined topics in Medieval and Renaissance culture as they complete their degree. At the end of the program, majors work closely under the guidance of one of our faculty members to conclude their studies, usually focusing on a topic of their choice in a long paper for a capstone or interdisciplinary seminar course in one of our core fields. Students have the option of completing a thesis for distinction or within the honors program to fulfill this final requirement, provided they work with program faculty members to develop an appropriate project through a 300- or 400-level directed readings course.

Majors and minors take courses across the core areas of history, literature and humanities, and arts and philosophy to provide interdisciplinary breadth in their studies. Students may choose from a variety of courses to fulfill each part of the core requirements. Additionally, students will design their own specialized elective focus from a diverse group of courses within the different fields associated with the program. Special topics courses taught by program faculty may, on a case by case basis, fulfill elective credits and should be discussed with the major advisor. Medieval and Renaissance Studies majors should develop their elective grouping in consultation with their major advisor or the program director, to ensure that they are focusing on a coherent grouping of courses.