The customized elective allows students to gain Certificate elective credit by adding a DH project to a graduate course in any department, with the instructor’s permission. Students who are interested in this option should contact Rennie Mapp, Director of the DH Certificate Program, at mapp@virginia.edu to make an appointment.
Notes on the DH project
- Objective: The project should contribute to the course’s intellectual objectives.
- Percentage of course credit: The DH project is not meant to be additional work on top of the course’s requirements; instead, the project should replace part of the assigned coursework. For example, if a course requires a 20-page essay, a student might propose to substitute a DH project for five of those pages. The DH project would count for 25% of the course grade in this case.
- Assessment of technical work: If the course instructor prefers not to grade the technical aspects of the project, the DH Certificate director can assess the student’s technical submission. All decisions about grading remain with the instructor.
- Required expert consultation: The student must meet with a DH expert to discuss their project within the first three weeks of the semester. The appointment must be confirmed in the first week. The director will provide recommendations for consultations in the initial meeting (see checklist).
- Courses that may be customized: Some instructors have already agreed that their courses may be customized to fit DH elective requirements: these are listed on the course listing page of this website. Students may also petition instructors of other courses.
- Deadlines: Please note that the following items must be completed with one week of the first class meeting.
- Meet with DH Certificate director.
- Complete the Customized Elective agreement, signed by the student, instructor, and DH Certificate director. This form may be obtained from the director.
- Confirm appointment with a staff expert recommended by the director.
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Examples of DH activities in this context:
- design and/or build a database
- create a website
- creat a storymap
- develop and build a visualization
- create a GIS map
- create a digital scholarly text
- produce a podcast
- create an art installation
- build a custom LLM
- develop or contribute to an ontology or taxonomy
- write a technical proposal for a DH project
Students are not limited to these options. The website of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH) is one source of inspiration; students should also explore DH publications and journals in their own fields.