Overview
The Digital Studies curriculum at the University of Chicago serves both graduate and undergraduate students via a one-year general MA program, a two-year specialized MA with thesis, a graduate certificate for students enrolled in other UChicago programs, an undergraduate BA minor, a joint BA/MA, and non-credit tutorials on computational skills.Digital Studies at the University of Chicago
Earn a one-year general M.A. or a two-year specialized M.A. with a thesis
A STEM Designated Degree Program
Digital Studies at the University of Chicago consists of a variety of academic programs in which students learn coding skills relevant to research in the humanities and investigate the impact of digital computing on society, culture, and the arts.
The Digital Studies curriculum responds to the growing demand for academic rigor in the loosely defined field of digital humanities and the need to certify technical competence in this area. It equips students to pursue careers that utilize their skills in research, writing, and critical thinking in tandem with the use of software for the study of human languages and cultures, past and present.
Master of Arts Program
The Master of Arts in Digital Studies of Language, Culture, and History is designed for full-time students who have a bachelor’s degree in the humanities or in a related discipline such as linguistics, history, anthropology, sociology, communications, or fine arts. Students with a background in the sciences, including computer science, may also benefit from this program and are encouraged to apply.
Students apply to do either a one-year general M.A. with no thesis requirement or a two-year research-intensive M.A. with a thesis project in one of the following areas of specialization: Artificial Intelligence and Language, Digital Art and Archaeology, Digital Media and Extended Reality, or Digital Texts and Culture.
A STEM Designated Degree Program
The M.A. in Digital Studies of Language, Culture, and History is listed as a STEM designated degree by the United States Department of Homeland Security for the purposes of the STEM OPT extension for international students, allowing eligible students to apply. However, approval of STEM OPT is at the discretion of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Although it qualifies as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program, the focus is not merely on acquiring technical skills. Students learn computational methods while also investigating computing as a cultural activity in its own right — an activity to be studied with respect to its historical development, social settings, and aesthetic qualities, as well as the ethical dilemmas it creates in our increasingly digitized and networked world.
For more information, please send email to digitalstudies@uchicago.edu.
Programs for UChicago Undergraduates and Ph.D. Students
In addition to the M.A. program, to which everyone may apply, students in the College of the University of Chicago can apply to do an undergraduate minor or a joint BA/MA in Digital Studies.
University of Chicago Ph.D. students and students in other two-year M.A. programs can earn a graduate certificate by taking four of the Digital Studies core courses and incorporating digital methods in their thesis work. This certification will be noted on their academic transcript.
The Digital Studies program also serves the undergraduate program in Media Arts and Design and the undergraduate program in Cognitive Science. Students majoring in these subjects may take Digital Studies (DIGS) courses.
Courses and Tutorials in Digital Studies
The Digital Studies courses are carefully designed to foster, not just technical skills in coding and data analysis, but an understanding of the history of computing and its cultural impact from the perspective of the humanities. Students in these courses are introduced to computer programming and the use of software libraries via two widely used programming languages: Python and JavaScript.
Learning to code in these languages is the gateway for students to understand and use cutting-edge digital tools and data standards to manage, analyze, and publish information. The Digital Studies courses emphasize the kinds of data commonly encountered in the humanities, including texts, images, maps, and other media.
Students who have previously taken college-level courses in programming and/or statistics in which they earned a grade of B (3.0) or higher will have fewer required core courses and more elective courses, allowing them to pursue other interests. In-person class attendance is mandatory in all Digital Studies courses except in case of illness.
In addition to courses for degree credit, students can benefit from non-credit tutorials on computational tools and skills commonly used in the humanities and social sciences that are not taught in the regular courses.
Teaching Staff and Faculty Advisory Board
The core courses and tutorials in Digital Studies are taught by scholars who are trained in the humanities or social sciences and also have computational expertise. Their background in the humanities informs their teaching and enables them to understand the best way to apply computational methods in scholarly research. They have extensive experience in the use of computers for research in the humanities. In addition to teaching, they consult with University of Chicago faculty members and students in a wide range of departments and disciplines to give advice concerning computational resources and services available on campus.
The degree program is overseen by a faculty advisory board representing a wide range of academic fields and departments. These faculty members serve on M.A. admissions committees and teach elective courses of interest to students in the program. They may also serve as thesis advisors for students who do the two-year M.A.
The faculty advisory board members are drawn from 17 different departments in the University of Chicago. They represent the full range of academic fields in the humanities and related social sciences, including linguistics, philosophy, literary studies, cultural studies, media studies, history, anthropology, archaeology, art history, visual arts, musicology, and religious studies. They share a common interest in understanding the impact of digital technology in the present day and in using digital tools to represent, analyze, and preserve the products of human languages and cultures, past and present. In their academic work they show how Digital Studies encompasses the full range of human activities, from everyday speech and writing to historical documents and literary texts, and includes music and fine art as well as mundane objects, places, and institutions.
