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Florence Program
Arts of London and Florence Program

How to declare a major

Are you interested in declaring a Medieval and Early Modern Studies major? The first step is finding a faculty member to consult.

Working with a facutly advisor, you will develop individualized major in Medieval and Early Modern Studies. This means that, following the guidelines given below, you plan your courses and write a short explanation of this plan.

When the plan is approved by the advisor and two other faculty members of the Medieval and Early Modern Studies program, you file this document (called a "Contract for an Individualized Major") with the Registrar. The plan should be filed by February 1 of your second year, or as soon as possible after deciding on a MEMS major.

What should you include in your prospectus?

The introduction should describe your interests in medieval and early modern studies, possible career plans, and how MEMS intersects with your other academic interests.

In the body of your essay, discuss the different categories of courses that demonstrate the breadth and depth that you hope to obtain in medieval and early modern studies. You may use the guidelines for the major to organize a discussion why you plan to take certain courses. Or you could organize by time period or theme or region(s) that you plan to focus on. For example, if you are interested in the interaction of Christians and Muslims, you may devote a paragraph discussing your interest in that area and what courses you plan to take that would help contribute to developing your knowledge.

Finally, you will need to discuss plans for a capstone experience. Such an experience might occur as an internship (e.g., at an archive, library, or museum), a research project that combined several disciplines or areas of interest, or a term of study at the Newberry Library. If you are not sure how you plan to complete the capstone experience, list likely possibilities and then state that you plan to add an addendum (approved by your three advisors) when you have finalized your plans.

Guidelines for a major in Medieval and Early Modern Studies

A total of nine credits, distributed in the following manner:

I. A minimum of eight course credits, from at least four departments, distributed between the first two categories. Of these eight, no more than four courses may be in a single department.

II. Medieval and Early Modern Studies Senior Project (MEM 485). This is an independent study during the senior year.

III. Language Competence at the 205 level in one of the following languages:

• French
• German
• Greek
• Italian
• Latin
• Spanish

You can accomplish this by one of the following: