Medieval Studies MSt

About the course

This nine-month interdisciplinary programme is aimed at students who wish to follow courses in more than one discipline in medieval studies and who are keen to extend their skills. The degree is supported by several faculties within the Humanities Division, demonstrating the University’s tremendous wealth of scholarship in the period.

The Faculty of History, English Faculty, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, Faculty of Music, Faculty of Theology and Religion and the Faculty of Oriental Studies all support the course, and it is administered by the Humanities Division.

This degree equips you to draw on a variety of disciplinary approaches to the study of the Middle Ages. It places emphasis on language training as well as on the development of skills in palaeography and codicology. It also offers the opportunity to undertake the acquisition of a medieval language not previously studied. You will follow a core course in research methods and choose from a range of taught option papers. You can also expect to spend at least a third of your time doing independent research with supervisors from at least two disciplines. You will also participate in a variety of workshops and exchanges.

Assessment

You will be assessed on essays based on the work for the option papers and developed in consultation with the convenor(s) of the option. You will be required to submit two essays, one for each option, of between 5,000 and 7,000 words each. Essays must be submitted according to the practices and deadlines of the host programmes, but it is usual to expect that one essay will be submitted towards the end of Michaelmas term and one towards the end of Hilary term.

You will also submit a dissertation of between 10,000 and 12,000 words at the end of Trinity Term. The dissertation will be written on a subject of interdisciplinary nature.

Graduate destinations

About a quarter of master’s students proceed to doctoral work at Oxford; others continue academic study at other institutions. Other career destinations are as diverse as, but broadly in line with, undergraduate humanities career destinations. teaching, museum curation, archiving, publishing, as well as law, finance, management consultancy, civil service etc.