PhD in Medieval Studies in Ithaca United States | Cornell University

The Graduate Field of Medieval Studies offers interdisciplinary education encompassing the vast geographical, temporal, and academic scope of medieval cultures, languages, and literature, while maintaining specialized training typical of conventional departments. The Program provides a customizable curriculum designed for each student's unique needs, with core requirements consisting of a research methods seminar, proficiency in a medieval language (typically Latin, though options include Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, or other non-European languages) and two modern research languages (excluding English), along with paleographic instruction in the chosen medieval language.

Our distinguished faculty draws outstanding graduate students from diverse Medieval Studies backgrounds, mentoring them through dissertations covering wide-ranging literary works, disciplines, historical contexts, and methodological approaches. Research involving original archival materials—along with associated disciplines like paleography, codicology, and textual criticism—benefits from extensive library collections and faculty expertise. The Program also strongly supports scholarship in gender and sexuality studies, race/ethnicity/class analysis, medieval and contemporary literary theory, archaeology and material culture, as well as the post-medieval interpretation and appropriation of medieval heritage. These areas are further enriched by collaborations with other Cornell departments. The Program maintains robust resources for studying Latin and numerous medieval vernaculars (including Celtic, East Asian, Germanic, Romance, Semitic, and Slavic languages).