To earn a graduate certificate at Washington University, a student must be currently enrolled in an applicable Washington University PhD program; apply and be accepted to the graduate certificate program; complete all courses required by the academic unit offering the certificate; maintain satisfactory academic progress; fulfill all academic and residence requirements; and apply for program completion (graduation) via Workday Student. Graduate certificates are not standalone programs and are only available to current students in applicable Arts & Sciences doctoral programs. Thus, graduate certificates are conferred at the same time as the student’s PhD. 

Program Requirements

  • Total Units Required: 15
  • Certificate Length: 1 year during PhD study
    • PhD students in good standing should apply before the end of their second year. MA students are not eligible. 
      • Applicants should write a letter detailing their interest in data science or digital humanities as well as any relevant background; their letter should be supplemented by a letter of support from the Director of Graduate Studies of their doctoral program of study.
      • In addition, applicants must complete the Application for Admission to a Graduate Certificate Program, which includes the projected date of completion of the major degree as well as student, doctoral program of study department chair, and DASH certificate program director signatures.
    • In order to receive the Data Science in the Humanities (DASH) Graduate Certificate, students must fulfill all the PhD requirements of their doctoral program of study. The certificate is granted to the student upon completion of their PhD program.
    • Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their coursework, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 units but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop.
  • Grade Requirement: B–

Data Science in the Humanities (DASH) Graduate Certificate

In response to increasing graduate involvement in the Humanities Digital Workshop (HDW) and its associated faculty-led projects, we offer a graduate certificate combining traditional humanities inquiry with computational methods and analysis. All graduate students in the humanities, regardless of PhD program of study, are welcome to pursue this certificate. A data-driven approach can complement and enrich any humanities field, and the certificate features appreciable cross-disciplinary engagement. Recent projects have been supervised by faculty in fields as diverse as History, Music, German, East Asian Languages and Cultures, American Studies, Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology, Women Gender and Sexuality Studies, and English. Our goal is to enrich the analytic skills that students can bring to bear on research in their home disciplines, and to enable them to contribute thoughtfully and resourcefully in other disciplines of the humanities.

The curriculum addresses data management, statistics, text analysis, geospatial analysis, digital prosopography, data visualization and information design. This curriculum will acquaint any PhD student with new methodologies and techniques, and will foster an awareness of the theoretical implications of using them.

This certificate program emphasizes both collaborative research and pedagogical training. You will work on a faculty project in the HDW, a requirement most often filled through participation in the HDW summer workshop, an eight-week program that pairs faculty with a small group of graduate and undergraduate fellows. The collaborative work environment, combined with weekly project meetings and skills workshops, make these immersive summer programs an unusual counterpoint to traditional graduate work. The DASH Certificate also requires the completion of the 3-unit course COMPLITTHT 5902 Digital Humanities in the Classroom, thus ensuring that pedagogical training accompanies more traditional coursework. 

Required Courses

15 units are required to complete the DASH graduate certificate. Most students are able to count 6 units dually between the requirements of the certificate and the doctoral degree requirements. Students should consult with their doctoral advisor and the DASH graduate certificate advisor to determine which courses may be applied to both degrees.

Minimum Grade Requirement: B–

DASH Pedagogy (3 units)

DASH Core (at least 3 units and up to 7 units)

DASH Pedagogy via Internship (at least 2 units and up to 6 units)

  • COMPLITTHT 5590 Internship in Digital Humanities (1-6 units)
    • This course may be repeated for up to 6 credits. Students intern on a faculty Digital Humanities research project through the Humanities Digital Workshop either during the academic year or in the summer.

Electives

If students do not earn the necessary 15 units within the courses listed above, electives may be taken to achieve 15 units with the permission of the DASH Program Director. Note: Graduate students must use the 5000-level and above designation of each course to count for program credit per the requirements of the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Consult the DASH Program Director for details.

Visit the Comparative Literature and Thought page
for additional information about this program.

Contact Info

Contact:Joseph Loewenstein
Phone:314-935-9344
Email:jfloewen@wustl.edu