The remaining courses will be taken in other periods and topics as required by the department of concentration. Students concentrating in History of Art are required to take four courses within the department and three courses outside the department dealing with the Renaissance period. Students concentrating in Classics are required to take six courses outside the department in the Renaissance period. Training in teaching, through teaching fellowships, is considered an important part of every student's program. The scheduling of the oral examination and the dissertation prospectus follows the practice of the primary department, but in every case the two requirements must be completed not later than September of the fourth year.
Students take additional written examinations as required by the primary departments.
Upon completion of all predissertation requirements, including the prospectus, students are admitted to candidacy for the combined Ph.D. degree. Admission to candidacy must be completed by the beginning of the fourth year. The dissertation will be advised and completed according to departmental guidelines, but one of the readers will normally be a member of the Renaissance Studies Executive Committee.