Ph.D. Certificate in Computational Humanities
Explore the intersection between the humanities and cutting-edge technologies
The Ph.D. Certificate in Computational Humanities is a university-wide credential that allows doctoral students from any Pittsburgh-based program to gain rigorous training in computational methods for humanistic research.
Certificate students will engage in coursework, collaborative research, and applied practicum experiences that complement their disciplinary expertise. The program integrates directly with the Ph.D. in Computational Cultural Studies (CCS), ensuring both coherence and flexibility: CCS students can fulfill certificate requirements as part of their doctoral training, while students from other programs may join the certificate to build interdisciplinary connections.
Students who complete the certificate will leave with hands-on skills in computer-based methods, a critical understanding of how computation shapes culture and society, and the confidence to collaborate effectively on research projects.
Upon completion, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate familiarity with computer-based methodologies in humanities research.
- Apply computational tools (e.g., NLP, visualization, network analysis) to cultural and historical questions.
- Theorize and critically assess the role of computation in culture and society.
- Collaborate across disciplines to produce novel research with rigor, speed, and explanatory power.
- Present research to academic and public audiences, integrating computational methods with humanistic inquiry.
Why Study the Computational Humanities?
- Interdisciplinary Community: join an interdisciplinary cohort across English, Statistics, LTI, LCAL, HCII, and beyond.
- Individualized Advising: Certificate students are assigned a faculty advisor with expertise in computational humanities.
- Collaborative Research Opportunities: The required Research Seminar provides opportunities to present project-based research, often connected to ongoing faculty or lab work, or early stages of a dissertation. I
- Integration with Ph.D. Training: Computational Cultural Studies Ph.D. candidates can integrate the certificate curriculum with their existing Ph.D. courses in order to earn both simultaneously.
- Career Development: Gain highly marketable skills in data analysis, coding, digital curation, historical and cultural awareness, and collaboration — skills valued in academia, technology firms, GLAM-sector jobs and public humanities.
Most students will complete the certificate within 1 to 2 years.
The program is designed to align with existing doctoral degree timelines, allowing courses and research requirements to count toward both home programs and the certificate where appropriate. Optional integration with dissertation research — such as committee participation or methodological incorporation — is encouraged but not required.
The Computational Humanities Doctoral Certificate has three components, amounting to a minimum of 36 units. Requirements are tailored to reflect students’ disciplinary backgrounds. Students enter through one of two tracks:
Track A: Students from Primarily Humanistic, Artistic or Qualitative Fields
Typically appropriate for students in CFA (Design, Architecture, Drama, Art, Music), certain programs in Dietrich (English, History, Philosophy, LCAL), and related disciplines.
76-829: Introduction to Computational Humanities: A full-semester, team-taught, cohort-building course that introduces students to core issues and methodologies in computational humanities.
Two graduate-level courses weighted toward computational skills and methods. Examples include:
- 76-788: Coding for Humanists
- 76-780: Methods in Humanities Analytics
- 36-600: Statistical Learning for Non-Statistics Graduate Students
- 05-660: Interaction Design Fundamentals
- 82-813: AI for Humanists
Computational Humanities Research Seminar: At least two semesters of the Computational Humanities Research Seminar. The 2-unit Research Seminar will meet weekly for 80 minutes and include research presentations from students, postdocs and faculty.
Track B: Students from Primarily Computational or Quantitative Fields
Typically appropriate for students in SCS, Tepper, Heinz, Engineering, and certain programs in Dietrich (Statistics and Data Science, Social and Decision Science, Psychology).
76-829: Introduction to Computational Humanities: A full-semester, team-taught, cohort-building course that introduces students to core issues and methodologies in computational humanities.
Two graduate-level courses weighted toward humanistic and interpretive frameworks:
- 76-714: Data Stories
- 76-890: Digital Rhetorics
- 11-830: Ethics, Social Biases, and Positive Impact in Language Technologies
- 05-618: Human AI Interaction
- Other graduate seminars in English, History, Philosophy, or LCAL by approval
Computational Humanities Research Seminar: At least two semesters of the Computational Humanities Research Seminar. The 2-unit Research Seminar will meet weekly for 80 minutes and include research presentations from students, postdocs and faculty.
Both tracks converge on the same certificate learning outcomes: students from humanistic fields gain hands-on computational expertise, while students from computational fields gain interpretive, ethical and historical frameworks for applying those skills to cultural research.
Students must earn a grade of B or better in all courses to receive the certificate. Courses taken toward the doctoral certificate may NOT also count toward departmental Ph.D. requirements without formal departmental approval.
Applicants to the Ph.D. Certificate in Computational Humanities must already be enrolled in a Ph.D. program at a Pittsburgh-based CMU campus, have approval from their primary dissertation advisor, and continue to progress within their primary degree program.
Students may not apply during their final semester.
Deadline: Jan. 6, 2027.
To enquire about the certificate program, contact the English Department administrative staff.