Graduate Program
The application deadline is January 4th.
The Medieval Institute at the University of Notre Dame is one of the leading centers in the United States for the advanced study of medieval culture. The graduate program provides students with superb technical training, but it also equips them with a holistic vision of the Middle Ages, grounded in a mastery of sources and languages and extending to the whole of its life and culture. The Medieval Institute welcomes applications from students of high academic ability who wish to pursue a career teaching and researching the Middle Ages. Generous fellowship support and light service demands allow students to devote themselves fully to their course of study.
Students in the Medieval Institute pursue the Ph.D. in Medieval Studies, a rigorous, interdisciplinary degree with a focus on one of the classic disciplines: history, Latin or vernacular literature (English, Italian, German, Spanish, French), theology, philosophy, music, or art history. They receive training from leading experts in their field while researching and writing in one of the best libraries in the world for medieval studies. Graduates of the Medieval Institute are extremely competitive on the job market, and currently hold positions in the United States as well as internationally.
A special feature of the Institute is its collaboration with many partners at Notre Dame, including graduate students from centers, institutes, and departments across campus.
New Graduate Minors
The Medieval Institute is delighted to announce four new Graduate Minors which are open to students enrolled in any graduate program in the College of Arts and Letters. We are introducing two Graduate Minors in Medieval Studies, one designed for Ph.D. students and one designed for students enrolled in terminal master’s programs, as well as two similar Graduate Minors in Byzantine Studies.
Currently matriculated students will be permitted to request the Graduate Minor retroactively—students who fulfilled all or some of the requirements prior to the introduction of these Graduate Minors may fill out the approval form and request that the appropriate Graduate Minor appear on their transcript.
Read full details and obtain the forms
Special Funding for Ph.D. Students
The College of Arts and Letters normally provides full funding for five years of Ph.D. study. Students who complete their degrees within that timeframe are eligible for a postdoctoral teaching fellowship in the sixth year. Dissertation research in Medieval Studies, however, sometimes demands the mastery of several research languages or methodologies that take more time acquire than are possible in the five-year curriculum. The Medieval Institute, therefore, offers two graduate fellowships that will allow Notre Dame Ph.D. students to take a third year of coursework, giving them six years of funding. Assuming they have completed their degrees, they will be eligible for a teaching postdoctoral fellowship in the seventh year. The Duffy Fellowship is open to Ph.D. students at Notre Dame in the Medieval Studies program; the Gabriel Fellowship is open to Ph.D. students at Notre Dame working on Ph.D.s focused on the Middle Ages.