| UCAS code | 1234 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 1 year full time 2 years part time |
| Entry year | September 2025 |
| Campus | Streatham Campus |
| Discipline | History |
| Contact | . |
| Typical offer | 2:2 Honours degree |
|---|---|
Overview
- Interdisciplinary degree with a large number of specialists in medieval studies across various academic subjects
- Strong faculty expertise in medieval history, archaeology, French literature, English literature, and Arab and Islamic studies
- Develop valuable skills for a career in the heritage sector or for continuing on to PhD study
- Benefit from access to a wealth of medieval resources in the South West and from a dedicated institutional research centre
- Opportunity to work 1-1 with individual academics during the Medieval Masterclass module
Approximately 50 staff over two campuses
We are 6th in the UK for research in History
Based on our GPA in REF 2021
Top 100 in world subject rankings for History
QS World University Subject Rankings 2024
Top 10 in UK subject rankings for History
8th in the Complete University Guide 2025
Entry requirements
We will consider applicants with a 2:2 Honours degree with 53% or above in their first degree in a relevant subject area. While we normally only consider applicants who meet this criteria, if you are coming from a different academic background which is equivalent to degree level, or have relevant work experience, we would welcome your application.
Entry requirements for international students
English language requirements
International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B2. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.
Course content
The programme is divided into units of study called modules which are assigned 'credits'. The credit rating of a module is proportional to the total workload, with 1 credit being nominally equivalent to 10 hours of work.
The modules we outline here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
105 credits of compulsory modules and 75 credits of optional or Skills modules.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| HASM004 | Let's Get Medieval | 15 |
| HASM018 | Working with Medieval Manuscripts and Documents | 30 |
| HISM180 | Dissertation in Medieval Studies | 60 |
Optional modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MA Medieval Studies skills modules 2024-5 | ||
| ARCM111 | Approaches to Pottery: Archaeology, Archaeometry, and Experimental Archaeology | 15 |
| ARCM407 | Zooarchaeology | 15 |
| ARCM501 | Researching the Historic Environment Online | 15 |
| CLAM012A | Latin Epic | 30 |
| CLAM090 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin I (A) | 15 |
| CLAM091 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin I (B) | 15 |
| CLAM252 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin II | 30 |
| CLAM254 | Latin III | 30 |
| CLAM255 | Latin IV | 30 |
| ARCM200 | Field Study | 15 |
| MA Medieval Studies option modules 2024-5 | ||
| ARCM108 | Experimental Archaeology: Research and Public Engagement | 15 |
| ARCM225 | Landscape Archaeology: Understanding the Historic Environment | 15 |
| ARCM415 | The Archaeology of Humans and Other Animals | 15 |
| EASM174 | Writing Women in the English Middle Ages | 30 |
| EASM180 | Crossing Medieval Boundaries | 30 |
| HASM005 | The Legend of King Arthur | 15 |
| HASM006 | The Legend of King Arthur | 30 |
| HASM007 | Supervised Medieval Study | 15 |
| HISM039 | History in Public: A Workplace Project | 30 |
| HASM009 | The Book in Medieval and Early Modern Europe | 30 |
| CLAM101 | The Western Dragon in Lore, Literature and Art | 15 |
| SMLM238 | French Language and Culture in Medieval Britain | 30 |
| ARAM257 | Philosophising Magic: From Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages | 15 |
| ARAM256 | Plague in the Premodern Islamic World | 30 |
| THEM307 | Reason and Emotion in Early Christian Preaching | 15 |
Fees
2025/26 entry
UK fees per year:
£12,500 full-time; £6,250 part-time
International fees per year:
£25,300 full-time; £12,650 part-time
Scholarships
We invest heavily in scholarships for talented prospective Masters students. This includes over £5 million in scholarships for international students, such as our Global Excellence Scholarships*.
For more information on scholarships, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.
*Selected programmes only. Please see the Terms and Conditions for each scheme for further details.
Teaching and research
Learning and teaching
Most of your teaching will be done in small groups and seminars where you will be encouraged to present your ideas, discuss and debate key points, and interpret common readings. We like to take a collaborative approach to learning and so you will have access to academic staff who will support you on the programme and can also help you prepare PhD applications or find work placements.
Modules
During the first two terms of your programme you will be assessed on the coursework you produce for your modules, and in the third and final term you will research and write your dissertation. This can be on any topic of your choosing as relates to Medieval Studies, and for some of our students it can form the basis of a later research proposal at PhD level.
Learning resources
The University's Streatham Campus is located with excellent access to the heart of historic Exeter which has a rich cultural heritage extending back to the Roman period and boasts particularly fine evidence of its medieval past. You will benefit from access to Exeter Cathedral Library and the University libraries which maintain excellent holdings relevant to medieval studies.
Research areas
As an MA Medieval Studies student you will join the Centre for Medieval Studies, which brings together academic staff and postgraduate students from a wide range of disciplines across the University. We are united by our shared passion for the history and culture of the medieval period, extending from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance and including evidence from texts to physical objects and the landscape. We meet regularly as a community through our annual programme of research seminars and other events – and in which we hope you will be an active participant.
Community
The MA Medieval Studies is an interdisciplinary degree hosted by the History Department. Research is at the heart of History and our postgraduate students are encouraged to come to Departmental Research Seminars and become an active part of the wider research community. Our research centres regularly hold seminars and other research events which MA students are welcome to attend.
Our current research centres include:
- Centre for Early Modern Studies
- Centre for Imperial and Global History
- Centre for Maritime Historical Studies
- Centre for Histories of Violence and Conflict
- Centre for Medical History
- Centre for Medieval Studies
- Institute of Cornish Studies
As well as our research centres we also have a Postgraduate Reading Group for matters medieval which brings together our Masters and PhD students to share ideas.
You can find out more about our academic staff and their research interests on our Research pages.
I am a Senior Lecturer in Medieval History with expertise in twelfth-century Britain and Ireland, intellectual and religious culture, medieval monasticism, hagiography, and communications.
My main research interests concern the construction of texts and narratives in the central Middle Ages, and the ways in which recent information, particularly news, was transmitted and preserved.
Read more from Dr Helen Birkett
Dr Helen Birkett
Senior Lecturer
My research interests are primarily concerned with medieval representations of the supernatural (prophecy, magic and the 'otherworld') and with medieval representations and discussions of gender and sexuality.
My teaching interests lie more broadly within the field of European medieval studies, including most especially the social, cultural and political histories of England and France c. 1100-1500. I convene modules at all levels including: Gender and Sexuality in the Middle Ages, Medieval Paris, and Magic in the Middle Ages.
Read more from Dr Jennifer Farrell
Dr Jennifer Farrell
Lecturer in Medieval History
Careers
As an interdisciplinary programme, the MA Medieval Studies is designed to introduce you to new skills and to build on and enhance skills you most likely developed at undergraduate level.
For some of our graduates a Masters degree is a step on the path to doctoral study, and if that is your interest then our MA is ideal preparation as your tutors will happily help you prepare research proposals and funding applications.
Skills
Many of our students choose to complete a Masters degree to enhance their professional skills or improve their chances of finding work in the heritage sector, which again we are happy to support through our excellent links with local archives and cultural centres.
Some of the things our recent graduates have gone on to include:
- Assistant Archivist
- Associate Research Fellow
- Author
- Foreign Expert
- HR Coordinator
- Lecturer
- Marketing & PR Executive
- Media Planner
- Ministry Assistant
- National Trust Volunteer Internship
- Paralegal
- PhD Study in History or Medieval Studies
