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Advanced Certificate in Data Humanities

Exploring data through a humanities lens

Humanities scholars have always analyzed data to uncover cultural patterns. With digital transformation now enhancing this work, you’ll use computational tools to detect literary trends, reveal hidden archival connections, and analyze culture with greater precision—creating a new frontier where humanistic insight and technology deepen and expand scholarship.

At a glance

  • Degree type: Advanced Certificate
  • Credit hours: 15
  • Cost per credit: $1,810
  • Total tuition: $27,150 (plus tax and fees)
  • Duration: One year (full-time) or up to 3 years (part-time)
  • Classes begin: August 2026
  • Applications due: April 1, 2026
  • Location/Modality: Rose Hill, Lincoln Center, or hybrid (based on course)
  • Is there an accelerated option? No
  • Full-time or part-time

Can you see yourself in the Advanced Certificate in Data Humanities program? Start your application today or register for a information session.

Program specifics

  • What defines Fordham’s Advanced Certificate in Data Humanities?

    Fordham’s Advanced Certificate in Data Humanities trains scholars to approach digital materials as data, integrating cutting-edge data science and AI methods with a focus on explainability. The program equips graduates to set best practices for preserving, interpreting, and sharing cultural production. Certificate holders become essential bridges between technology and the humanities, translating AI advances, revealing their limits, and highlighting their potential for deepening cultural understanding in an increasingly data-driven world.

    How we are fulfilling our mission

    • Historic legacy: Continues Fordham's tradition from Jesuit scholar Roberto Busa, S.J., who convinced IBM that humanities data deserved rigorous analysis.
    • Renowned center for medieval studies: This certificate leverages existing cross-disciplinary strengths and encourages broad faculty involvement across departments.
    • Critical AI literacy: Graduates can interrogate and explain opaque AI systems using traditional ML techniques to decode "black-box" algorithms.
    • Practical skills: Students learn to determine appropriate measures for different datasets and integrate into data engineering teams.
    • Translation expertise: Certificate holders are uniquely positioned to communicate complex data science problems to diverse audiences—from data scientists to the public.
    • Interdisciplinary leadership: Our certificate will formalize Fordham’s leadership in digital humanities while emphasizing its distinct focus on data humanities.

  • How to apply for an Advanced Certificate in Data Humanities

    To ensure that we are able to holistically evaluate the candidate’s suitability for the Advanced Certificate in Data Humanities program, the following application components are required: 

    • Resume or curriculum vitae (CV) 
    • Academic transcripts  
    • Official graduate record examination (GRE) scores 
    • Statement of intent 
    • Supplemental essay (optional)
    • Writing sample 
    • Two letters of recommendation 

    Please visit the admissions information page to learn more about our admissions requirements.

  • Courses at a glance

    • Introduction to Data Humanities (4 credits)
    • Humanities Sources and Methods (3-4 credits)
    • Data Scientific Methods (3 credits)
    • Data Humanities Elective(s) (3-6 credits)
    • Capstone Data Humanities Project (1-2 credits)

    The graduate bulletin for course descriptions will be available soon.

  • The program begins with a foundational seminar in data humanities. Expertise in a humanities field is obtained through one (1) required source-based course; relevant proficiency in data science is obtained through one (1) data methods course. Additional electives in either domain may be taken to complete the required fifteen (15) credits. Additionally, a capstone project will synthesize these skills, contributing to the student’s academic portfolio. For those without prior experience in programming or statistics, the introductory course ensures the preparation needed for advanced methods coursework.

    The graduate bulletin for course descriptions will be available soon.

  • Brian Reilly, Ph.D.
    Associate Director, Graduate Studies

    Brian Reilly’s interests include medieval francophone literature, contemporary French thought, and language teaching. He has published on Chrétien de Troyes and Jacques Derrida and their relation to the history of science and skepticism. His monograph titled Getting the Blues: Vision and Cognition in the Middle Ages explores color in medieval language and literature.

    Learn more about the faculty in the Medieval Studies Department.

F.A.Q.

  • This certificate will be of interest to individuals who work with cultural data. The program would be most ideal for: post-baccalaureate humanities majors seeking to enhance existing degrees with cutting-edge methods to prepare for graduate study; current graduate humanities students looking to incorporate data scientific methodologies into humanities research and gain competitive advantages for doctoral applications and expanded career opportunities in academic and alt-ac markets; data professionals interested in field-specific expertise for arts, culture, and heritage sector roles; and cultural sector professionals hoping to reskill or advance careers in libraries, archives, museums, and cultural organizations.

  • The Advanced Certificate in Data Humanities is designed to foster significant intellectual and professional growth, preparing certificate holders to navigate and shape the evolving landscape of cultural inquiry and data-driven understanding. Students who pursue this certificate will gain interdisciplinary fluency, critical algorithmic literacy, and the ability to apply data-driven interpretation to complex humanities questions. Professionally, they will be highly employable, capable of career diversification, and serve as vital translational leaders in cultural institutions and beyond. They will also be at the forefront of ethical scholarship in the digital age, shaping how AI is responsibly used to preserve and interpret human culture.

  • Certificate holders will emerge as data humanists—distinct from data scientists—uniquely trained to bridge the gap between computational methods and humanistic inquiry.

    Certificate holders will:

    • Specialize in a particular humanities field by taking at least one course focused on sources specific to that field (e.g., a History course on archives, an English course on paleography, an American Studies course on testimony, or a Theater course on repertoire).
    • Gain proficiency in data scientific tools to explore these sources as data, through at least one course on data methods (e.g., programming in Python, data visualization, or databases).

    Learn more about the Program Requirements. (add link)

View more frequently asked questions.

Begin your application today

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