The Center for Renaissance Studies hosts four major kinds of programs especially for students in master’s or Ph.D. programs in any discipline of medieval, Renaissance, or early modern studies: ten-week graduate seminars held at the Newberry, for which students can earn academic credit at their home institutions; one-day research methods workshops; our annual multidisciplinary graduate student conference; and dissertation seminars. Advanced graduate students are also eligible to apply for our Mellon Summer Institutes in Vernacular Paleography.

Graduate Seminars

See Graduate Seminars for details about how to enroll and information about upcoming seminars.

Graduate Student Conference

The annual graduate student multidisciplinary conference, organized and run by advanced doctoral students, has become a premier opportunity for maturing scholars to present papers, participate in discussions, and develop collaborations across the field of medieval, Renaissance, and early modern studies.

Participants from a wide variety of disciplines find a supportive and collegial forum for their work, meet future colleagues from other institutions and disciplines, and become familiar with the Newberry and its resources. Please see Publications for a list of peer-edited online conference proceedings from the graduate student conference.

One-day Research Methods Workshops

These workshops, led by top consortium scholars, teach students near the beginning of their graduate school careers valuable methodological approaches and expose them to working at a research library, through the lens of a particular topic.

Dissertation Seminars

The Center hosts a series of dissertation seminars in various fields, led by top medieval, Renaissance, and early modern scholars. The seminars are open by competitive application to ABD students at consortium schools who are toward the beginning of their dissertation research. Meeting on Friday afternoons approximately once a month, the seminar focuses on methods and comparisons, and provides comments and criticisms from a larger group of specialists than are available on any single campus.

Note: Graduate students of Center for Renaissance Studies member universities may be eligible to apply for Newberry Renaissance Consortium Grants to attend CRS programs or to do research at the Newberry. Each member university sets its own policies and deadlines; contact your Representative Council member in advance for details.

Past Graduate Programs