Digital Humanities & Culture

Course Description
Many of the biggest questions in our world today can only be answered by drawing on knowledge of both culture and technology. Trinity's MPhil in Digital Humanities and Culture prepares its students to take on these questions in a wide variety of contexts, whether they want to deepen their understanding of a humanities subject through data mining and visualisation; explore the virtual transmission of culture and heritage by and beyond museums, libraries and archives; or join the movement to make technology development more humane.

In the digital humanities, researchers trained in history, literature, languages, the arts, computer science and engineering combine their skills to transform our understanding of the world. They also develop the technological capacity to drive forward our ability to see patterns in human behaviours and how humans describe their experiences. What sets apart our course from other Digital Humanities courses is the equal emphasis we place on what technology can do for humanities research, and what humanities research can do to promote the rise of human-centred technology design. We also use the established collaborations across our disciplines and with our library and technical support colleagues to deliver a unique educational experience. The flow of challenges, knowledge and techniques between students and staff in the course from diverse backgrounds creates many unexpected and transformative opportunities to grow our understanding of the world.

Whether your background is in in the humanities, arts, information management, cultural heritage or computer science, the MPhil in Digital Humanities and Culture will give you the skills to:

• Apply cutting-edge methods to interrogate the most fundamental questions of literature, history and the arts.

• Deepen your understanding of cultural practices and tensions in the digital age.

• Build your own digital projects, honing your existing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills and gaining new ones.

• Experience how a professional organisation manages the impact of technology on culture in an internship setting.

• Work and learn alongside the members of the many active research project teams of the Trinity Centre for Digital Humanities.

The MPhil and the Centre for Digital Humanities
Students on the Masters in Digital Humanities and Culture are encouraged to participate in the activities, projects and network of the Trinity Centre for Digital Humanities (www.dh.tcd.ie). Trinity is internationally recognised for its research in this field, and maintains a lively team of DH researchers, projects, partners and visitors. The Trinity Centre for Digital Humanities acts as a conduit between researchers at Trinity and the nationally recognised, ADAPT, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Digital Media Technology (https://www.adaptcentre.ie/), the DARIAH ERIC European Research Infrastructure for Arts and Humanities (www.dariah.eu), and as a wide network of international research partners based in world class institutions such as the Humboldt University (Berlin), the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Paris) and the Digital Archiving and Networking Service of the Netherlands (the Hague).

MPhil, Diploma and Certificate Options
The programme can be accessed via three different entry routes, each of which offers its own advantages. With the Postgraduate Certificate, students complete three required courses to develop a basic understanding of and fluency with the methods and contexts of the digital humanities. With the Postgraduate Diploma, students complete 6 courses (4 required, 2 elective) to obtain a thorough grounding in both the theory and the practice underpinning the digital humanities. Finally, with the Masters of Philosophy, students will have the opportunity to apply what they have learned in their coursework through the development of a research dissertation.

The Educational Experience

Postgraduate Certificate
Postgraduate Certificate students take three modules in total. Two of these take a theoretical approach, focussing during the Michaelmas term on the Theory and Practice of Digital Humanities and in Hilary term on Cultural-Technical Systems. At the same time as taking these two lecture and discussion–based modules, students take the practical module: Building Digital Humanities Projects.

Postgraduate Diploma
Postgraduate Diploma students take four core modules. Two of these take a theoretical approach, focussing during the Michaelmas term on the Theory and Practice of Digital Humanities and in Hilary term on Cultural-Technical Systems. At the same time as taking these two lecture and discussion–based modules, students take two practical modules: Building Digital Humanities Projects and Digital Humanities Internships and Project Management. Students also take two optional modules (one per term), selected from a range of options offered from across the relevant disciplines at Trinity, including options such as Digital Storytelling, Programming for Digital Media and Interlingual Technologies.

Master's Degree
Masters students take four core modules (two in each semester). Two of these take a theoretical approach, focussing during the Michaelmas term on the Theory and Practice of Digital Humanities and in Hilary term on Cultural-Technical Systems. At the same time as taking these two lecture and discussion–based modules, students take two practical modules: Building Digital Humanities Projects and Digital Humanities Internships and Project Management. Students also take two optional modules (one per term), selected from a range of options offered from across the relevant disciplines at Trinity, including options such as Digital Storytelling, Programming for Digital Media and Interlingual Technologies. Finally, students complete a research dissertation on a topic of their choice, receiving guidance from supervisors who are experts in their fields.

Admission to the MPhil will be based on the following criteria:

• Applicants should have a good honours degree (at least an upper second, GPA of at least 3.3) in a discipline relevant to the digital humanities (usually a humanities field, but may also include library science, cultural heritage management, media studies, science and technology studies or computer science, provided all other requirements are met).

• Applicants must be able to show their understanding of the digital humanities and present a compelling case for studying it at postgraduate level. This case should be made via the Personal Statement Form Template (see below)

• Applicants must demonstrate their ability to write clearly and persuasively in an academic register (via the writing sample, described below).

• Applicants whose first language is not English will need to provide evidence of proficiency in English via a recognised English language qualification in line with the requirements as laid down in Postgraduate Calendar Part 3 Section 1.5 Language of Instruction. A minimum IELTS score of 6.5 in each category or its equivalent.

Applicants may also be asked to take part in a short interview (in person or via phone/skype) as part of the assessment process.

Application and next steps
You may apply at any point between the applications being opened in the autumn, and the closing date being reached in the summer. However, the course is popular, and applications are handled on a first-come first-served basis. So, you are strongly advised to apply early in order to avoid disappointment.

We do our best to provide applicants with an answer within 3 weeks of receiving their full applications. Partial applications that are missing any of the materials listed below cannot be considered until they are completed.

Required Materials
For this course, you will need to submit the following materials to apply:

A) Personal Statement Form
The Personal Statement Form is an important part of our assessment process. It is your opportunity to state your reasons for applying to this programme and how they match what the programme delivers. Applicants who would like to make the Course Director aware of further information relevant to their application may also upload an optional personal cover letter to their dossier.
Please complete this form to submit your Personal Statement.

B) Sample of Academic Writing
As part of your application, you also need to submit a sample of no more than 2,500 words (excluding bibliography) of your best academic writing in English.
When we assess your application, we will pay particular attention to:

• your ability to build and present a logical, cohesive argument
• your ability to analyse and evaluate the arguments of others
• your ability to adhere to the norms of academic writing (referencing, quotation, avoiding plagiarism* and other forms of academic misconduct, and bibliography)
• your command of academic English

* we make use of Turnitin and other software to check for plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct in the samples submitted. An application may be rejected if samples of work submitted are found to include instances of such misconduct.

C) English Language Qualifications
Unless you have completed a degree through the medium of English or are a native speaker, you are required to prove your proficiency with the language. Trinity prefers IELTS, but will accept alternative tests run by international organisations, such as TOEFL. A minimum of 6.5 in each category or its equivalent is required.

C) Degree Certificate(s)
You will need to provide degree certificates (in PDF format) that prove you have completed all of the degrees you mention in your application. If you haven't yet completed your degree, you can still apply and supply these documents when you have them.

E) Degree Transcripts
You will need to provide official transcripts (in PDF format) showing all of the components you have completed as part of your degree(s).

F) Two Reference Letters
You will need to provide reference letters from two people not related to you who can provide references written in English, explaining why you would be a strong candidate for the course. It is the responsibility of the applicant to contact their referees and to upload their reference letters on their behalf to Trinity's online application system. Please note that Trinity's online application system does not prompt referees for their reference letters; the applicant must therefore obtain the letters first and then upload them to the system.

G) Online Application Form
Once you have all of these, click "Apply" below and fill out the online application form in full, not forgetting to upload all the requested materials as attachments.

IMPORTANT: please note that you must specify the category of each attachment you upload (for example, when uploading a reference letter, you need to specify that the attachment is a "Reference"). Otherwise your application will be deemed incomplete.

Closing Date: 31st March 2023

M.Phil - One year Full Time/PG Certificate - One year Part Time/Diploma - One year full time