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Undergraduate Studies

  1. Minor
  2. Current Courses
  3. Study Abroad
Detail: Allegorie de l'eau, Ecole Fontainbleau, 16th C

Welcome to the Program in Medieval and Early Modern Studies!

The increasingly global interconnectedness of our contemporary world puts a premium on broad cultural knowledge and experience. MEMS offers a wealth of resources and opportunities as you prepare to enter this world. The program’s interdisciplinary scope means that you can learn about other cultures in a fuller, more integrated way. You can take courses in history AND art history AND literature AND music, or study Europe AND Asia AND the Americas, without having to give up any of your interests. The program also encourages you to study abroad for a term or a full year. And because you can learn about the language, history, and culture of your place of study in your MEMS coursework, you are prepared to take full advantage of your experience abroad. Finally, globalization has a history. Since the past is always present, a minor in medieval and early modern studies sets up a fuller, more contextualized understanding of other contemporary cultures as well.

MEMS Minor

The MEMS minor, first approved in Fall 2005, helps you complement the premodern offerings in your concentration with an interdisciplinary line of inquiry, or complement a modern area studies concentration with historical depth.

Advising

MEMS students get academic advising with program faculty to support their individually constructed programs of study. Program administrator (email mems-staffs@umich.edu) will be the initial point of contact for students in MEMS. 

Study Abroad

Students are encouraged to study abroad, and one of the program's goals is to provide an education that will make this experience especially rewarding. Often the courses you take abroad can be counted toward your MEMS requirements. Recent MEMS students have studied in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

For more information, visit the Center for Global and Intercultural Study (CGIS.)

What can I do with background in Medieval and Early Modern Studies?

Because Medieval and Early Modern Studies is a broad, interdisciplinary field, you can put training in MEMS to a very wide range of uses. Recent graduates have gone into medicine, law, library and information science, teaching, business careers, and graduate work in a variety of disciplines (e.g., history and medieval studies), many with a view to teaching in a college or university.

The knowledge and skills you acquire and hone in the MEMS program will prove enormously useful, whether or not you continue in an academic career. As a model liberal arts program, MEMS prepares you to cultivate interests and talents you can draw on for a lifetime of learning across a broad range of cultural, aesthetic, creative, and intellectual experiences.