The Center's certificate program in Medieval Studies is the only program of its kind in the greater D.C. area. It is designed to offer students a broad experience in various components of medieval civilization, providing both perspective and tools for specialized research.

The program of 15 hours of academic credit is based on an interdisciplinary curriculum that can satisfy the needs and interest of students in a variety of scholarly fields related to the study of the medieval period, and provide them with concentrated and carefully supervised opportunities for graduate level instruction, which may serve as an entry point for a traditional degree program or as an abbreviated course of study serving professional or personal interests.

The certificate program is designed for:

• Students who are currently enrolled at graduate programs in other academic fields at Catholic University or elsewhere and wish to complete additional graduate training and earn a separate credential in a second teaching or research field and thus enhance their chances on the academic job market;
• Students with a B.A. who wish to achieve an interdisciplinary graduate credential within a year of two, or those who are planning to enter graduate studies focusing on any aspect of the medieval period;
• For continuing-education and non-traditional students who wish to update and enhance their knowledge in a selection of disciplines related to the study of the Middle Ages and to be part of an on-campus scholarly community.

Why choose the certificate program?

• The certificate can serve as an additional credential of interdisciplinary expertise in Medieval Studies for students pursuing a degree program in a traditional discipline and improve their opportunities for employment and admission to competitive graduate programs.
• The program provides special graduate qualification, without comprehensive examinations or thesis, requiring only course work over a minimum of two semesters.
• It provides a wide variety of courses, which enables students to acquire expertise both in the content areas of the three tracks and in relevant skills related to the field.
• It provides strong interdisciplinary training for students who may ultimately choose to enroll in Catholic University's own graduate programs.
• It offers enrollees opportunities to take advantage of the resources available at a research university in the capital and its numerous partner institutions (lectures, colloquia, local special collections, museum collections and events, libraries).

FAQs and Requirements:

• For admission to the program, a B.A. is required from all applicants (but no GRE scores).
• Course work consists of 15 credit-hours (i.e., five courses) at graduate level (based on a list of approved courses of all participating schools and departments).
• The program is available to any graduate student in any Catholic University school or department and to admitted external applicants with an undergraduate degree.
• It permits current students of other Catholic University graduate programs to double-count relevant courses (as is possible when a certificate program is combined with a degree program). To satisfy the disciplinary distribution requirements (see below), typically two courses may come from the student's graduate degree program and another three must be taken at other departments or schools.
• The certificate program does not allow for transfer credit from other institutions. Graduate credit earned as part of the certificate may be transferred into master's and doctoral programs (at Catholic University or elsewhere) upon request if approved by those degree programs.

Time frame of studies

The certificate may be pursued either part-time or full-time, either as a candidate for a graduate degree at Catholic University or as a non-degree certificate student (ND-CERT). Course work for the certificate can be completed in one academic year (2/3 or 3/2 course load); non-degree students must complete their course work in no more than five consecutive semesters (i.e., two and a half academic years; one course per semester without interruption).

Approved courses:

A list of certificate courses is published prior to the beginning of each semester based on current graduate course offers in qualifying fields of study. The list is subject to approval by the Director of MBS or the advisor of the certificate program. The list is available here.