Prospective Students

The Ph.D. typically takes between 5 and 7 years to complete. The first two years consist of coursework (graduate seminars, usually concluding in a final paper), during which you must obtain 14 credits across at least 3 departments. During these two years, you must also complete 3 language requirements: 2 modern languages important for your research, and 1 of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, or Chinese, as used in their medieval forms. This can be achieved either by taking coursework classes in those languages or by taking university language examinations. Medieval Studies Ph.D. students are also required to take at least one class in palaeography or codicology.

The third year consists of teaching undergraduates, as well as oral examinations on your chosen field of study; the production of the dissertation prospectus; and the selection of the dissertation committee– between 3 and 5 scholars who will guide your dissertation research. After these requirements are completed, you will have attained Ph.D. ‘candidacy’, also known as being A.B.D. (all but dissertation).

The rest of the degree is spent writing the dissertation and teaching, with one year (two semesters) consisting of the University Dissertation Fellowship, during when you do not have to teach. In the end, you must complete four semesters of teaching at Yale to graduate.

You can find more information about the requirements of the program on the Ph.D. requirements page.

Although some students do apply with an already fully-formed dissertation project in mind, most have a broad field of knowledge and a set of questions that they are interested in pursuing, which eventually result in a dissertation project after their years of coursework. While it’s normal for students’ interest to change, applicants still should have a clear idea of the kind of research that they want to do, both in substance and in method. This is important so that we can know whether Yale is a good home for your research, and whether there will be faculty and resources available to supervise the development of your project.

Yale’s graduate medievalists come from many different academic backgrounds. Some have just completed undergraduate or graduate work in the field that they are pursuing at Yale; others have worked for some time before beginning their Ph.D.’s. Your most recent academic or professional work need not be directly related to your proposed field of study – successful applicants in the past have had undergraduate degrees in STEM fields. The only requirement is that you have an undergraduate (Bachelor’s) degree.

Medieval Studies Ph.D. students at Yale do not ‘belong’ to any specific disciplinary department, but rather to the interdisciplinary Medieval Studies program. However, graduate medievalists almost always find a second (or third!) home in one or two departments, such as English, History, Art History, NELC, etc., meaning that members of their dissertation committee will be drawn from this department; most of their teaching will take place in this department; and they participate in the academic life of this department, such as attending colloquia and conferences related to that field. This alignment is particularly important for students who hope to gain an academic appointment in a disciplinary department.

It is important to note that this unusual structure makes Medieval Studies most suitable for applicants who are self-motivated and willing to forge their own path within the university.

Medieval Studies is aimed towards those who wish to pursue interdisciplinary work. Past combinations of disciplinary study in the program have included English literature and art history; Classics and Old English literature; music and the history of science and medicine; environmental history and Near Eastern languages and cultures; and palaeography and the digital humanities.

Languages are a major component of the program, with two modern languages and one medieval language required to attain candidacy. A strong pre-existing base in languages is a major advantage for graduate students in Medieval Studies, but it is also possible to begin studying a language – for example, Old English or Arabic – for the first time at Yale. Prospective students are therefore encouraged to demonstrate linguistic ability in their application, for example by using original primary sources in their writing sample.

You might be well-suited to Medieval Studies if you’re strongly self-motivated and organized, since the program requires individual students to build relationships across academic departments in order to form their committee and obtain teaching positions.

There is a high degree of flexibility in the program, with students able to take courses in almost any Yale department and teaching assistant positions available in multiple departments. Although the program does have set requirements, there are multiple avenues to fulfilling these. In other words, if you thrive in an environment where you’re in control of what your day-to-day work looks like, Medieval Studies might be a great fit for you.

Finalists for admission to the Ph.D. program are usually interviewed by a panel of faculty, typically in late January or early February. This is a relatively informal conversation about students’ research experience and plans, but it may also include reading of original sources for students whose proposed research requires a high degree of linguistic expertise.

No. Applicants can only apply to one program per cycle.

All international students, except Canadians, need a visa to study in the U.S. Yale’s Office for International Students and Scholars has guidance on every step of the process. Each international student has an assigned advisor at OISS who will sign visa documentation on behalf of the University. OISS will reach out to accepted students 3–5 days after an offer from Yale has been accepted.

More information can be found at the OISS Website.

Yes! You can still apply if you don’t have any Latin. If your proposed field of study requires Latin, it may be a disadvantage to have limited or no knowledge of Latin. However, if your proposed field of study requires use of other languages (such as Arabic or Persian), then you won’t be at any disadvantage if you are more proficient in other relevant languages.

Yale Medieval Studies graduates have been hired for academic jobs in departments including English, History, Art History, Religious Studies, Icelandic Studies, Near Eastern Languages, and Modern Languages. Medieval Studies graduates have also gone on to successful careers in academic administration and university governance or development, including at Yale.

Beyond academia, a Medieval Studies Ph.D. could prepare you for a career in museum/gallery curation; the heritage industries; journalism; school teaching; the civil service; and many more fields. Graduate students will typically leave the program with experience and skills in project management, leadership, public speaking, research, and languages, all of which are valuable in almost any role.

The Ph.D. dissertation can take many forms, including editions, although the most common structure is still a monograph. Ordinarily, monograph-type dissertations consist of at least three chapters, plus an introduction and conclusion. However, the single most important requirement is that the project makes a substantial, original contribution to knowledge.

Yes! The majority of Medieval Studies graduate students travel either domestically or internationally at some point during their degree, funded either by the University Dissertation Fellowship, internal Yale grants, university exchanges, or externally awarded grants.

Medieval Studies offers many opportunities for graduate students to shape the life of the department. Graduate students organize the weekly Medieval Lunch colloquium and the Yale Lectures in Medieval Studies, which typically consist of 6–8 lectures by distinguished speakers to a large audience. Graduate student medievalists also organize and chair various reading groups, including language study groups.

No! The Yale Medieval Studies program produces dissertations on topics across the Global Middle Ages.

There is no requirement to publish during the Ph.D.; however, many Medieval Studies graduate students do publish in peer-reviewed journals during their Ph.D. This work might begin in graduate seminars or form part of the dissertation. Yale faculty are often willing to mentor students as they prepare their work for publication, and many article-writing workshops and less formal peer support groups are available across campus.