Certificate Programs

Poetics and Theory

The Advanced Certificate Program in Poetics and Theory is a transdisciplinary initiative that provides an institutional framework for diverse theoretical initiatives and practices at NYU. By offering an integrated approach to theoretical concerns in the Humanities, it responds to frequently voiced desires for a theory initiative across the disciplines. Rather than pure theorizing, the program focuses on sharing theoretical approaches and fosters interdisciplinary and international collaboration.

The program traces a historical progression from the ancient practices of poetics and rhetoric to their modern theoretical counterparts. The intimate but vexed relations between aesthetics and hermeneutics, philosophy and literature, social institutions and the work of art, form the core of study. The transdisciplinary orientation of the Certificate complements disciplinary study and sharpens students’ career profiles.

All students enrolled in Ph.D. and M.A. programs in the Graduate School of Arts and Science are eligible. Students funded through the MacCracken program pay no additional tuition or fees.

Students enrolled in a Ph.D. or an M.A. program at New York University should complete the application and return it to the Program in Poetics and Theory (poeticsandtheory@nyu.edu). Students not already enrolled at NYU may apply to the advanced certificate program through the Graduate School of Arts and Science (select “online application”).

For a more detailed overview of the program, refer to the GSAS Bulletin.

Advanced Certificate in Culture and Media: Dual-Degree Program with PhD in Comparative Literature and the Advanced Certificate in Culture and Media at New York University

The Departments of Comparative Literature, Anthropology, and Cinema Studies offer a specialized joint course of study leading to a New York State Certificate in Culture and Media for NYU graduate students who are also pursuing their PhD degree in Comparative Literature.

The program’s philosophy takes a broad approach to the relationships between culture and media in a number of domains including: ethnographic film’s significance for the fields of anthropology and cinema/media studies; problems in representation of cultures through media; the development of media in indigenous, Diaspora, and non-Western communities; the emerging social and cultural formations shaped by new media practices; the political economy shaping the production, distribution and consumption of media worldwide; and the impact of new media technologies on these processes.

The Advanced Certificate program provides students with an intensive, concentrated experience that integrates three kinds of critical practice: study of the uses and meanings of media in a range of communities and cultures that prepares students to employ ethnographic research methods; critical theory and history of documentary and ethnographic media; and documentary production.

For a list of core faculty and further information, please see the Department of Anthropology’s website.

This program is open to doctoral students in consultation with and after the approval of both the Department of Comparative Literature and the Culture and Media Program. Interested students should set up appointments with the Director of Graduate Studies in Comparative Literature and the Director of the Culture and Media Program in Anthropology to discuss possible admission to the dual-degree program in their first year of study.

For information about certificate coursework and requirements, please refer to the GSAS Bulletin.