Certificates in Medieval Studies

There are two Certificates offered, the regular Certificate in Medieval Studies and the Honors Certificate in Medieval Studies.

Regular Certificate in Medieval Studies. All students (including special students, graduate students, law students, etc.) are eligible to earn the regular Certificate in Medieval studies, the requirements for which are listed below.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Eight (8) courses, according to the following distributional requirements:
1. Required Course: History 115: Medieval Europe 410-1500 (or equivalent)
2. Two Courses from the Following:
  - Geography:
    - 577: History of Cartography
  - Hebrew and Semitic Studies:
    - 371: Topics in Jewish Civilization (when topic is medieval)
    - 471-472: Jewish Cultural History
    - 473: Jewish Civilization in Medieval Spain
  - History:
    - 313: Introduction to Byzantine History and Civilization
    - 317: Medieval Social and Intellectual History: 400-1200
    - 318: Medieval Social and Intellectual History: 1200-1450
    - 321: Economic Life in Medieval Europe
    - 325: History of Medieval France
    - 326: Venice and the Venetian Republic in History and Culture
    - 333: The Renaissance
    - 339: History of Spain and Portugal to 1700
    - 369: English Constitutional History--The Medieval Era
    - 417: History of Russia
    - 431: History of Scandinavia to 1815
    - 435: Politics and the State in the Medieval Islamic World
    - 539: The Middle East and the Balkans during the Ottoman Era, 1200-1600
    - 572: Undergraduate Studies in European History (when topic is medieval)
    - 719: Proseminar: Medieval History
    - 720: Selected Topics in Medieval History
    - 805: Seminar--Medieval History
    - 807: Seminar--Medieval History
    - 813: Seminar--Byzantine History and Civilization
  - History of Science:
    - 201: The Origins of Scientific Thought
    - 322: Ancient and Medieval Science
    - 401: History of Pharmacy
    - 403: The Origins of Scientific Thought
    - 562: Byzantine Medicine and Pharmacy
    - 567: Western Medicine and Pharmacy in the Middle Ages
    - 603: History of Drugs to 1850
    - 903: Seminar: Medieval, Renaissance and 17th-Century Science
  - Integrated Liberal Studies:
    - 201 Western Culture: Science, Technology, Philosophy
    - 205 Western Culture: Political, Economic, and Social Thought
    - 207 History of Western Culture
    - 271: Pre-Copernican Astronomy and Cosmology in Crosscultural Perspective
  - Philosophy:
    - 431: Medieval Philosophy
  - Political Science:
    - 501: The Development of Ancient & Medieval Western Political Thought
  - Women's Studies:
    - 416: Women in Medieval Society
3. Two Courses from the Following:
  - Medieval Studies:
    - 215: Life in the Middle Ages
    - 309: The Medieval Crusade: Fact, Fiction, and Fantasy
    - 310: Mediterranean Cities: A Cross-Cultural Approach
    - 311: Schools and Learning in the Medieval World
    - 312: The Medieval Church
    - 350: Rome: The Changing Shape of the Eternal City
    - 363: Science, Philosophy and Poetry in the Middle Ages: The Tradition of the Liberal Arts
    - 364: Jerusalem, Babylon and Athens: Divergent Models of Human Life and Culture
    - 366: The Religious Community: The Roots of Christian Monasticism
    - 368: The Bible in the Middle Ages
    - 550: Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies in Medieval Civilization
    - 551: Advanced Studies in Medieval Literature
  - History:
    - 315: Music, the Arts, and History: A Multimedia Approach
4. Two Courses from the following:
  - Classics:
    - 517: Ancient Religion and the Early Church
    - 563: Mediaeval Latin
    - 602: Late Ancient and Early Medieval Literature
  - Comparative Literature:
    - 377: Literary Periods (when topic is medieval)
  - English:
    - 320: Old English
    - 321: Middle English
    - 359: Beowulf
    - 360: The Anglo-Saxons
    - 361: A Study of an Outstanding Figure or Figures in Medieval English Literature
    - 362: A Study of a Theme In Medieval English Literature
    - 365: Early Medieval Literature
    - 367: Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
    - 369: Contemporaries and Immediate Successors of Chaucer
    - 751: Chaucer and the Courtly Tradition
    - 752: Late Medieval Religious Literature
    - 753: Medieval Literature (topics vary)
    - 950: Seminar: Topics in Medieval Literature
  - French:
    - 430: French Literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
    - 701: Introduction à l'ancien français
    - 703-704: La littérature française du XIVe et du XVe siècles
    - 705-706: La littérature française des dèbuts jusqu'à la fin du XIIIe siècle
    - 709: Medieval Manuscripts and Textual Criticism
    - 843: Old Provençal
    - 939: La Littérature médiévale
  - German:
    - 611: Survey of German Literature to 1750
    - 651: Introduction to Middle High German
    - 652: Readings in Middle High German
    - 755: Old Germanic Languages
    - 768: Comparative and Historical Grammar of the Old Germanic Languages
  - History:
    - 316: Latin Palaeography
  - Integrated Liberal Studies:
    - 203: Western Culture: Literature and the Arts
  - Italian:
    - 253: Dante's Divine Comedy (Literature in Translation)
    - 255: Boccaccio's Decameron: The Human Comedy (Literature in Translation)
    - 659-660: Dante's Divina Commedia
    - 661-662: Il Trecento
    - 671-672: Il Duecento
    - 709: Medieval Manuscripts and Textual Criticism
    - 771: History of the Italian Language
  - Literature in Translation
    - 253: Dante's Divine Comedy
    - 255: Boccaccio's Decameron: The Human Comedy
    - 256: Images of the Individual in the Italian Renaissance
    - 271: Masterpieces of Scandinavian Literature: Middle Ages-1900
    - 342: Mythology of Scandinavia
    - 345: The Scandinavian Tale and Ballad
    - 346: The Icelandic Sagas
    - 347: Kalevala and Finnish Folk-Lore
  - Portuguese:
    - 337: Readings in Old Portuguese Texts
  - Scandinavian Studies:
    - 373: Masterpieces of Scandinavian Literature: From the Middle Ages to 1900
    - 407-408: Old Norse
    - 429: Mythology of Scandinavia
    - 430: The Vikings
    - 433: The Scandinavian Tale and Ballad
    - 435: The Icelandic Sagas
    - 444: Kalevala and Finnish Folk-Lore
    - 633: Survey of Scandinavian Literature: 1300-1500
  - Spanish:
    - 330: History of the Spanish Language
    - 335-336: Old Spanish
    - 421-422: Survey of Medieval Literature
    - 425-426: Romancero y Cancionero Tradition
    - 727: Seminar: Libro de Buen Amor, Celestina, Corbacho
    - 728: Seminar: Medieval Literature
    - 811-812: Philological Seminar: Old Spanish
    - 817-818: Romance Philology
5. One Course from the Following:
  - Art History:
    - 201: Ancient and Medieval Art
    - 310: Early Christian and Byzantine Art
    - 311: Medieval Art
    - 312: Medieval Painting
    - 313: Romanesque Sculpture
    - 314: Gothic Sculpture
    - 315: Medieval Art in England
    - 319: Gothic Architecture
    - 320: Italian Renaissance Art
    - 321: Italian Art: 1250-1400
    - 322: Italian Art from Donatello to Leonardo da Vinci: 1400-1500
    - 330: The Painting and Graphic Arts of Germany, 1350-1530
    - 331: Netherlandish Painting of the 15th Century
    - 515: Proseminar in Medieval Art
    - 525: Proseminar in Italian Renaissance Art
    - 535: Proseminar in Northern European Painting
    - 600: Special Topics in Art History (when topic is medieval)
    - 815: Seminar: Medieval Art
    - 825: Seminar: Italian Renaissance Art
    - 835: Seminar: Northern European Art
  - Music:
    - 411: Survey of Music in the Middle Ages
    - 412: Survey of Music in the Renaissance
    - 923-924: Seminar in Notation
GRADE POINT REQUIREMENT: 3.0 minimum grade point average in the courses that count toward the Certificate.
UNDERGRADUATE ADVISING FOR THE CERTIFICATE: The program has an advisor who oversees the programs of students who wish to earn the Certificate in Medieval Studies. All courses not listed above must be approved by the advisor in order to count toward the Certificate. Students who have taken courses in the medieval area at other colleges and universities may petition the advisor to approve those courses as substitutes for the Certificate, according to the above distributional requirements.

    Honors Certificate: The Honors Certificate is open only to honors-eligible undergraduates, that is those having a GPA of 3.5 at time of application. It is recommended that this program be started as early as possible and the advisor be consulted from the beginning.
            All students pursuing the Honors Certificate in Medieval Studies are encouraged to follow an undergraduate program that is as broad as possible while taking advantage of opportunities for focusing on individual interests in medieval areas within the chosen major. Appropriate majors for students pursuing this certificate are: African Languages and Literature (Arabic), Art History, Classics (Greek or Latin), Comparative Literature, English, French or Italian, Geography, German, Hebrew and Semitic Studies, History, History of Science, Languages and Cultures of Asia (Central and Southwest Asian), Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Scandinavian Studies, Slavic Studies, Spanish or Portuguese, Theatre and Drama, Women's Studies.
    Interested students should be planning for this certificate by taking four semesters of elementary/intermediate Latin, Greek, or Arabic (or an equivalent level of proficiency by examination). The program is designed to be carried out in the Junior and Senior years; in the Sophomore year, or before declaring a major and for the Certificate, a candidate should consult with the Chair of Medieval Studies for assistance in planning an individualized program.
    Because this is an Honors certificate, special students shall not be admitted except in the case of Specials who are continuing to complete the certificate, having already graduated. Special students are allowed and encouraged to enroll for the regular Medieval Studies Certificate.

Requirements for the Honors Certificate in Medieval Studies.

For admission: GPA of 3.5 at time of application or consent of the Medieval Studies director. For retention in the program a GPA of 3.5 in courses offered for the certificate must be maintained. A candidate must have an overall GPA of 3.3 at time of graduation to be awarded the certificate (if a student completes the Honors program with a lower GPA s/he will be awarded the regular Medieval Studies certificate). A student does not have to be in any other honors-related program to qualify to enter the Honors Medieval Certificate but must be honors-eligible at time of application..

Eight courses (24 credits of intermediate/advanced courses), at least half of which must be taken at the UW-Madison. Requirements cannot be met by credit/no credit grading.

1. Language requirement, two courses (6 credits):

        Two Latin courses numbered 301 or higher (Latin 563, Medieval Latin, and Latin 316, Latin Paleography, are recommended if available)
or
    Two Greek courses numbered 401 or higher
or
    African 445-446 Readings in Advanced Arabic texts.

2. Two courses in the department of the declared major (other than those mentioned in 1) having a concentration on medieval-related content. Students majoring in literature and language departments are encouraged to take at least two courses in which the medieval vernacular language and/or its literature is studied/read in its original form..
    (Note: Some departments require one or more medieval courses as part of the major: in such cases students are encouraged to fulfil this requirement by taking additional courses with medieval concentrations as electives within their major. Certain survey courses offered in literature departments that may include some medieval literature will not count towards the certificate. Classics majors (Greek) are advised to take two Latin courses at any level; Classics majors (Latin) are advised to take two additional courses with medieval content from a department other than Classics from a list of acceptable substitutes and in consultation with the Medieval Studies director. As for other majors, if medieval courses are not available within a candidate’s major department, appropriate substitutions from other departments may be made with the approval of the MS Director.)

3. Two courses in one department (outside the major department or program) having a medieval concentration.

4. One medieval elective from any other department or program other than those used in 3 and 4 above.

    (Note: When a course is cross-listed with Medieval Studies, its cross-listed affiliation will be what counts for purposes of rules 3-5, i.e., a Medieval Studies/English course will count as English.)

5. A senior honors seminar in medieval studies, to be taken in the Spring semester closest to graduation, Medieval Studies 685, “ Honors Seminar in Medieval Studies.” Seminars are designed to accommodate a wide range of interests and disciplines Students will work from original materials to develop and complete a significant individual research project as their Honors “capstone” experience. Enrollment from nine to a maximum of fifteen.

DIRECTIONS FOR APPLYING FOR AND RECEIVING THE CERTIFICATE

Obtain the statement of requirements for the Certificate and a Certificate form at the Medieval Studies Program (7195C H. C. White Hall) or from the website: http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/msp/. Make an appointment with the advisor to complete the Certificate Declaration Form (click to view and print out form in PDF). Regular advising sessions are recommended to plan the certificate program.
Once you have completed all course work for the Certificate, bring or send your transcript to the advisor. You do not have to wait until graduation to receive the Certificate. If requirements have been fulfilled, your Certificate will be noted on your record, and the Medieval Studies Program will send you the Certificate.

We would appreciate hearing from you in the future about the value the Certificate has had for your subsequent education and/or career.

For Advising: Professor Sherry Reames

7195C Helen C. White Hall
600 North Park Street
Phone: (608) 262-7836
Fax: (608) 263-3709
email: slreames@wisc.edu

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