<p>I'm planning on majoring in Medieval and Renaissance Studies, but I'm a little lost on how to determine the strength of a school's program. I've researched which schools offer it (a limited number), and I've checked how many courses are offered. What other ways can I assess a school's strength in a specific field? Any information would be really helpful. Thanks!</p>
<p>Look at the number of professors, their educational qualifications, and how many of them are visiting/assistant profs. Take a look, too, if you can find it, at the rate of turnover among faculty in that department.</p>
<p>Another thing to look at will be the CVs of the professors in each program. They are often available online and, though sometimes rather out of date, will give you an idea of what each professor's research interests are or at least what they have published recently. You can then get copies of the journal articles or books you find interesting to get a feel for their work.</p>
<p>Also, look carefully into what each school requires for the major. This will usually be online, but if not, don't hesitate to email the department and ask. In my opinion (as a Classics major) you'll want to see:</p>
<p>1) A wide range of survey/intro courses
2) An emphasis on languages
3) Regular offerings of <em>very</em> specific upper level courses.
4) Some sort of "honors thesis" program that requires 2 semesters of work (i.e. directed research then writing)
5) Ideally - the opportunity to take graduate level courses for undergrad credit. Obviously this will only be possible at a university that also has a graduate Medieval and Renaissance Studies group.</p>