Graduate Certificate FAQs

If you’re ready to apply, you’ll need to gather a few materials: (1) a letter of application, (2) a list of possible courses that satisfy the certificate, including courses you’ve previously taken, (3) current transcript(s) demonstrating at least a “B” average, and (4) a brief statement of support from a faculty member. To submit your application, you may either complete an online application or email your materials. Please see our Apply page for more details.

The DS Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), Germaine Halegoua, is the advisor for students working toward the DS graduate certificate. You may email Dr. Halegoua with questions or request to make an appointment by emailing  dsi-grad.director@umich.edu. You may also wish to reach out before applying with questions about the certificate, which courses count toward the certificate, or to map out a timeline toward completion.

There are two main requirements for the certificate: coursework (9 credits) and a practice-based requirement (3 credits). Coursework includes a required core course, and the remaining courses may be selected from available offerings around your areas of interest. The practice-based requirement is explained more fully below.

The practice requirement (or practicum) is meant to be a flexible opportunity to delve deeper into a project or more practical implementation of the critical theories and concerns of Digital Studies. Some previous examples of the practice component include the following:

• A digital poetry project that plays with poetry as form. In this practicum, and with supervision from a faculty member, a student would spend time learning JavaScript and D3.js data visualization in order to produce new forms of poetry given the varied affordances of the digital as a platform.
• A curatorial project that digitizes literature in a Border Studies archive. In this practicum, a student would work with archive staff to convert physical texts on the Borderlands into a digital medium and curate the online repository.
• Participation in an intensive summer institute or other hands-on, long-form workshop that pairs critical theory with technical or production practice, such as the Digital IDEAS Summer Institute or Digital Humanities Summer Institute.

All practicum projects must be approved by the DGS. Once approved and the experience completed, each student will complete a 5 - 7 reflection essay about their practicum experience. The semester a student completes the reflection essay, they will be required to register for DIGITAL 699: DS Practicum. Registering for this course ensures that the 3-credit requirement for the practicum is represented on transcripts. 

Anyone seeking to enhance their graduate study with in-depth study of critical theories and research methods of digital technologies, tools, platforms, environments, infrastructures, and cultures would benefit from adding the DS graduate certificate to their course of study. The faculty and students in the certificate program research and publish at the bleeding edge of Digital Studies, working on the big questions and problems inherent in and created by digital technologies and cultures. This certificate provides you with the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with them, and to participate at the forefront of Digital Studies research in the nation.