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FAQ

  1. Am I “doing the Certificate” if I have not submitted an application?

NO!  According to the Registrar’s Office, financial aid organizations, and the coordinators of the Digital Humanities Graduate Certificate, students are not formally enrolled until they have submitted an application and the Certificate is added to your curriculum. Students interested, but not formally enrolled, in the certificate are strongly encouraged to enroll in the certificate early in their course work. Students not formally enrolled in the certificate will miss out on critical program information and run the risk of facing complications with financial aid. Interested students need to apply by filling out this application form.

  1. How can I get credit toward the DH Certificate for a course not on the list of pre-approved courses?

Students may request approval from the certificate coordinator to include other courses with digital humanities content. Contact the certificate coordinator, Dr. Joshua Dicaglio, at jdicaglio@tamu.edu, with “DH Certificate” as the subject.

  1. What criteria does the coordinator use to determine whether a course not pre-approved will count toward the certificate?

In general, for a course to count toward the DH Certificate, 50% or more of the assigned course material should be focused on digital research methods, digital humanities theory, the acquisition of digital tools, or the production of one or more digital artifacts. In cases where assigned course material does not meet this level of engagement with digital humanities, the course may still count toward the certificate provided at least 50% of the student’s grade for the course comes from one or more digital projects or writing assignments that deal centrally with digital humanities (e.g. a major research paper, annotated bibliography, book reviews, reviews of digital projects, etc.).

  1. How can faculty propose a Digital Humanities Graduate Certificate course?

Submit a course syllabus to the certificate coordinator, Dr. Joshua Dicaglio, at jdicaglio@tamu.edu.  The certificate coordinator will review and approve if there is sufficient digital humanities content. See also the answer to the above question #3. “What criteria does the coordinator use to determine whether a course not on the list of pre-approved courses will count toward the certificate?”

  1. What are the expectations for DHUM 685 (the independent study)?

The specific requirements for the independent study must be worked out between the faculty directing the independent study and the student taking it. The Certificate coordinator does not oversee reading lists, assignments, required skills, or assessment of student work. The Certificate only requires that the student submits the Digital Artifact Proposal Form, registers for the 685 independent study, produces a project proposal, completes a digital project, and submits a report reflecting critically on the process of producing the project. 

  1. What is meant by a digital project?

As digital humanities is a broad field, the Certificate seeks to recognize a broad range of projects. The requirement focuses on the production of a digital artifact that might take, but is not limited to, any of the following forms: computer program, game, database, encoded text, digital map, data visualization, RDF triple store, digital art, digital curation of artistic material, pedagogical materials, digital literary analysis, digital archiving, digital storytelling, wearable computing, or 3D print. The term “digital project” does not necessarily require a purpose-built project specifically for the Certificate; for instance, a student might also be contributing to a faculty member’s existing project or supplementing their own Master’s thesis, dissertation, or seminar paper with a digital element.

  1. What options do I have for acquiring the skills needed for the digital project?

Digital humanities projects often require skills not covered in traditional coursework. Students can think creatively about ways to acquire those skills. The following suggestions outline some possible scenarios by which a student could complete a digital project for the certificate. 

  • An independent study that includes a digital project. Students who have the needed skills or a faculty member/librarian who can teach them the needed skills may simply take an independent study with a relevant faculty member.
  • Programming-4-Humanists. CoDHR runs Programming-4-Humanists (P4H) courses in which students can acquire digital humanities skills. A student can take any of the offered courses in conjunction with an independent study course. For example, a typical P4H class might teach participants how to produce a digital edition of a text. A student could gain the skills necessary for the production of a digital edition in that course and then use those skills in an independent study with a faculty member.
  • Digital Humanities Summer Institute.  DHSI is another excellent venue for acquiring digital humanities skills. Similar to P4H, a student could complete a DHSI course on a topic like digital mapping, return to campus and apply those skills to a historical mapping project in an independent study course with a faculty member.
  • Workshops (on- or off-campus). Many institutions locally, nationally, and internationally offer opportunities to gain digital humanities skills.  A current list of opportunities may be found on the  CoDHR’s website. A student could take one of these workshops or courses and then complete an independent study with a faculty member.
  • GARs and Internships. A student with a research position or internship could use the skills acquired working on that project and/or the research product that comes out of that position as part of an independent study they complete separately with a faculty member.
  1. How do I receive the certificate?

Successful completion of the course requirements and the non-course requirements constitutes completion for award of the Digital Humanities Certificate.  When the student has completed all of the requirements, he/she should contact the Certificate Coordinator who can verify completion, process the required documentation with the university, and inform the student when he/she may request the Certificate in Howdy.  The student must request the Certificate in Howdy prior to graduation, or the Certificate cannot be awarded.