The Renaissance Studies Certificate Program functions as a consortium of Ph. D. programs that brings students and faculty together through courses, events, and participation in organizations in order to share and enhance common interests in the Renaissance and Early Modern period through cross-disciplinary contact.
The RSCP is designed to enable students pursuing doctorates in any CUNY Ph.D. program in any aspect of the Renaissance or Early Modern period (c. 1350-1700) to expand their studies in an interdisciplinary way. The program's main goals are to:
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Create a community of students and faculty with interests in the Renaissance and Early Modern period across disciplines;
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Expose students to methods of cross-disciplinary research that will enhance both scholarship and teaching;
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Confer a Certificate in Renaissance Studies as a credential that will enrich the doctorate.
Participating CUNY Ph.D. Programs
Art History, Classics, Comparative Literature, English, French, Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures, History, Music, Philosophy, and Theatre.
Requirements for the certificate consist of
- two core courses (RSCP 72100: Introduction to Renaissance Studies and RSCP 82100: Research Techniques in Renaissance Studies),
- two elective courses outside the student’s home discipline (may include special topics courses in the Certificate Program);
- reading proficiency in Latin, which can upon appeal to the RSCP Advisory Committee be substituted with another language related to the student's research;
- and a dissertation, which need not be in the area of Renaissance Studies.
Several participating Ph.D. programs accept the two core courses toward their own requirements.
Students are welcome to take RSCP courses even if they are not completing a certificate.
The RSA and its interdisciplinary journal, Renaissance Quarterly, have their offices at the CUNY Graduate Center and employ CUNY doctoral students. CUNY faculty and doctoral students participate in the annual RSA conference. Two annual student awards are funded by the RSA: The Graduate Student Essay Prize in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, and Renaissance and Early Modern Travel and Research Grants.
The Renaissance Studies Certificate Program is the contact program for CUNY’s membership in the Folger Institute consortium, which meets at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. CUNY doctoral students are eligible for funding to travel to, and participate in, Folger Institute seminars, colloquia, and conferences. For program and application information, see <http://www.folger.edu/institute/>.
Affiliated with the Renaissance Studies Certificate Program, this society has monthly speakers at The Graduate Center, organizes major national conferences, and sponsors major publications. Information: Susan O'Malley
A student-run organization, emphasizing connections between thought, culture, politics, society, language, and art, EMIG provides a forum for the exchange of ideas related to the period between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. The group serves as a bridge between the Ph.D. Program in English and the Renaissance Studies Certificate Program and its participating programs in Art History, Comparative Literature, French, Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Languages and Literatures, History, Music, Philosophy, and Theatre. EMIG meets monthly during the academic year. Information
The following awards are open to students enrolled in the program:
Graduate Student Essay Prize in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, an annual award of $300.00 for an essay on a Renaissance or Early Modern-topic. The purpose of the prize is to encourage future Renaissance scholarship by recognizing scholarly promise in a doctoral student. Funds for the award are provided by the Renaissance Society of America (RSA), whose offices are located at The Graduate Center.
Renaissance and Early Modern Travel and Research Grants, a limited number of grants to help students travel to collections or conferences in connection with projects related to research in Renaissance and Early Modern studies. The award is supported by funds contributed by the Renaissance Society of America.
Guidelines and applications for these awards are available in the Certificate Programs Office (Room 5109) or by request
The Certificate in Renaissance Studies is available to students matriculated in Ph.D. programs at The Graduate Center. For admission to The Graduate Center, write to individual programs, or, for general information, write to Admission Office, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4309 or see www.gc.cuny.edu.
Students already at the Graduate Center, or planning to attend, should contact the program coordinator.