Graduate Certificate in Computational Humanities

Explore the intersection between the humanities and cutting-edge technologies

The Graduate Certificate in Computational Humanities is a university-wide credential that allows Ph.D. 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:听

  • Demonstrate familiarity with computer-based methodologies in humanities research.听
  • Apply computational tools (e.g., NLP, visualization, network analysis) to cultural and historical questions.听
  • Theorize and critically assess the role of computation in culture and society.听
  • Collaborate across disciplines to produce novel research with rigor, speed, and explanatory power.听
  • 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 the Department of English; the Department of Statistics & Data Science; the Language Technologies Institute; the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics; the Human Computer Interaction Institute and beyond.听
  • Individualized Advising: Certificate students are assigned a faculty advisor with expertise in computational humanities.听
  • 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.听
  • Career Development: Gain highly marketable skills in data analysis, coding, digital curation, historical and cultural awareness, and collaboration 鈥� skills valued in academia; technology firms; galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM-sector jobs); and public humanities.

Most students will complete the certificate within one to two years.听

The program is designed to align with existing Ph.D. program timelines, allowing courses and research requirements to count toward both home programs and the certificate where appropriate. Optional integration with dissertation research 鈥� such as committee participation or methodological incorporation 鈥� is encouraged but not required.

The Graduate Certificate in Computational Humanities has three components, amounting to a minimum of 36 units. Requirements are tailored to reflect students鈥� disciplinary backgrounds. Students enter through one of two tracks:

Track A: Students from Primarily Humanistic, Artistic or Qualitative Fields听

Typically appropriate for students in the College of Fine Arts (Design, Architecture, Drama, Art, Music), certain programs in Dietrich College (English; History; Philosophy; Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics), 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.听

Two graduate-level courses weighted toward computational skills and methods. Examples include:听

  • 76-788: Coding for Humanists听
  • 76-780: Methods in Humanities Analytics听
  • 36-600: Statistical Learning for Non-Statistics Graduate Students听
  • 05-660: Interaction Design Fundamentals听
  • 82-813: AI for Humanists听

Computational Humanities Research Seminar: At least two semesters of the Computational Humanities Research Seminar. The two-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听

Typically appropriate for students in the Kenneth Griffin School of Computer Science; the Tepper School of Business; the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy; the College of Engineering, and certain programs in Dietrich College (Statistics & Data Science, Social and Decision Science, Psychology).听

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.听

Two graduate-level courses weighted toward humanistic and interpretive frameworks:听

  • 76-714: Data Stories听
  • 76-890: Digital Rhetorics听
  • 11-830: Ethics, Social Biases, and Positive Impact in Language Technologies听
  • 05-618: Human AI Interaction听
  • Other graduate seminars in English, History, Philosophy, or LCAL by approval听

Computational Humanities Research Seminar: At least two semesters of the Computational Humanities Research Seminar. The two-unit Research Seminar will meet weekly for 80 minutes and include research presentations from students, postdocs and faculty.听

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.听

Students must earn a grade of B or better in all courses to receive the certificate. Courses taken toward the graduate 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.听

Students may not apply during their final semester.听

Deadline: Jan. 6, 2027.

To enquire about the certificate program, .