Please note, there are two application deadlines. The deadline for overseas applicants is 31 July 2025, and for home applicants, it is 29 August 2025. For more details, click here.
Key information
Duration:
Institution code: R72
Campus: Egham
UK fees*:£11,600
International/EU fees**: £26,100
The course
History: Medieval Studies (MA)
This specialised pathway within the MA History offers an opportunity to study the history and literature of the English Middle ages. The course is taught by academic specialists who are actively engaged in research on the Middle Ages and its literatures, and who will inspire and challenge you to do your best work. We introduce you to many aspects of medieval society and culture, while giving you the opportunity to concentrate on the areas that interest you most. The course is run as a collaboration between the Departments of English and History and taught with contributions from experts in the Departments of Classics and Languages, Literatures and Cultures; students registered on the MA History pathway will have the opportunity to take a range of options from History, on topics that range across medieval Europe to Byzantium. This MA pathway offers training in a wide range of skills for postgraduate research in Medieval Studies that will enhance your understanding and appreciation of medieval texts. This training provides important preparation for students seeking to pursue doctoral research.
As part of the University of London, you will have the opportunity to participate in events taking place beyond Royal Holloway. Your registration includes membership the Institute of English Studies and the Institute of Historical Research in Senate House, London WC1 for the duration of your studies. Staff from the English Department convene the London Old and Middle English Research Seminar, which holds seminars twice termly, presenting new research on medieval literature by scholars from the UK and further afield. You will also have access to specialist libraries in and around Senate House such as the Warburg Institute.
You may choose to study for a Postgraduate Diploma in Medieval Studies, taking on the taught part of the course without completing the dissertation. This is designed for those who want advanced instruction in Medieval Studies but cannot commit to undertaking an independent research project. The MA and Postgraduate Diploma are designed to be flexible, so you can study either of them full time or part time.
We offer a wide range of postgraduate scholarships to help with funding your studies. We especially encourage eligible applicants to apply for one of the following:
Bedford Society Scholarship - £8,100 tuition fee reduction for Home or international students with, or expected to achieve, a First Class degree or equivalent.
Dinah and Jessica Nichols scholarship - £6,250 scholarship for Home or international students with, or expected to achieve, a First Class degree or equivalent.
Dr Pirkko Koppinen Scholarship - £12,000 tuition fee reduction and living costs contribution for Home or international students with, or expected to achieve, at least a 2:1 or equivalent.
Herringham Scholarship - £7,900 tuition fee reduction for Home or international students with, or expected to achieve, a First Class degree or equivalent.
From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.
This module will introduce a range of issues and topics associated with the study of the Middle Ages on a wide and interdisciplinary basis, and will equip you with practical skills to undertake research in this field. The module provides opportunities for you to engage in and practice different kinds of academic discourse, through written assignments and oral presentations.
1.Using the skills learned during the taught parts of your MA, you will carry out your own independent research project. You will write a thesis of around 15,000 words on a topic of your choice which critically reflects upon established scholarship and provides original insight and independent judgements.
This module will describe the key principles of academic integrity, focusing on university assignments. Plagiarism, collusion and commissioning will be described as activities that undermine academic integrity, and the possible consequences of engaging in such activities will be described. Activities, with feedback, will provide you with opportunities to reflect and develop your understanding of academic integrity principles.
Optional Modules
There are a number of optional course modules available during your degree studies. The following is a selection of optional course modules that are likely to be available. Please note that although the College will keep changes to a minimum, new modules may be offered or existing modules may be withdrawn, for example, in response to a change in staff. Applicants will be informed if any significant changes need to be made.
Optional modules on medieval topics
This list presents a selection of optional modules that are likely to be available; new modules may be offered or existing modules withdrawn as we refresh the curriculum, and applicants will be informed if any significant changes are made.
Students on the medieval pathway are strongly advised to attend Introductory CL5760 Latin for Research, although this module cannot be taken for credit.
This module examines the development of Arthurian literature and legend across four centuries and three languages. Beginning with Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain, it focuses on the different ways in which Arthur’s reign was represented and understood in the Middle Ages.
This interdisciplinary module explores the traditions and forms and varieties of medieval story-telling, through an in-depth study of two major works of literature. These may be texts in Old or Middle English, French, Latin, and Italian; all texts are read in translation, with opportunities to explore the original languages too.
In this module you will develop an understanding of the Old English poetic tradition, particularly as exemplified by the Exeter Book Riddles. You will look at unusual perspectives on Anglo-Saxon culture and literature, and examine topics such as military, religious and everyday worlds, the wonders of creation, animals, sources and analogues, sexuality and runic riddles.
This module invites you to read and discuss a wide range of late medieval texts in relation to the city of London. You will interrogate the way that London, its inhabitants and its institutions are represented in medieval literature, from the court at Westminster to the pulpit at St Paul’s, the 'lewed ermytes' of Cornhill and the inns of Southwark. You will read Middle English texts in glossed editions, and Latin texts in modern English translations.
The crusading movement arose at a time of significant change for women. This module considers the role of noble women in providing political stability through regency and marriage after the First Crusade in the Latin society established in the East, including the dramatic reign of Queen Melisende of Jerusalem, and the effects of crusading on women who remained in the West. You will examine how medieval historians used gendered language and moral tales to express their disapproval of women who took the cross, and the role of women in supporting crusader battles, often becoming the casualties of warfare.
This module explores the significance of pilgrimage in the medieval world through a combination of contextual study of the ideals and practices associated with this dimension of medieval piety, and specific study of contemporary pilgrimage accounts from the fourth to fifteenth centuries. You will explore a wide range of topics including the practice of pilgrimage in religious traditions from Late Antiquity onwards, Saints' cults and sacred space, specific pilgrimage destinations, pilgrims' writings, gender, class, and material culture.
This module traces the response of the rulers of the Byzantine Empire to the First Crusade, which passed through their territory in 1096-7. The events of the First Crusade - its preaching by Urban II in 1095, its arrival at Constantinople in 1096-7, its progress through Byzantine territory to Antioch, the ‘third wave’ of 1101 – will all be discussed in this context through a range of Byzantine and Western source material in translation.
This module takes a long-term view of the crusade which captured and sacked Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine empire, in April 1204. Starting in around 1192, it places events in the context of relations between the Byzantines and previous crusades, of the internal situation of the empire and of the position in the Latin east in the aftermath of the Third Crusade. It then examines how the Fourth Crusade was preached and planned, how it was diverted first to Zara and then to Constantinople, and how it came to attack and pillage the city.
This module attracts students from many disciplines, including Classics, Ancient History, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Theology and English. You do not need to have any previous experience of learning Latin, although it may be useful to have some knowledge of a modern language. In addition, a basic knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology will be useful in your preparation for the tests and exam.
For full-time students the course lasts an academic year from September to September; part-time students pursue the course over two years, completing the Research Development Course and one of their chosen options in their first year, and the remaining two options and the dissertation in their second year.
Courses are taught by means of a weekly structured two-hour seminar, and each course lasts for a term of 11 weeks in total. A full-time student thus has four hours of seminars a week for two terms and then further dissertation workshops and discussion groups in the summer term, in addition to individual supervision in the process of completing dissertations. Courses are assessed by academic essays and by a range of other kinds of assessment, including shorter commentaries and presentations. Students will receive formal written feedback on written and oral assessments throughout the two terms and can see staff individually during their office hours.
The dissertation, to be completed over the summer period, will be a piece of original written work of up to 12,000 words (excluding bibliography and appendices). The topic of the dissertation will be agreed between the student and whichever member of staff is allotted as supervisor. Dissertations are submitted at the end of the programme in the first week of September.
UK Lower Class Honours degree (2:2) or equivalent in History or a related subject in the Humanities or Social Sciences.
Applicants come from a diverse range of backgrounds and we accept a broad range of qualifications (including first degrees in subjects other than History).
An interview and sample essay may be required if we would like more information upon which to base a decision. Applicants unable to attend an interview, such as overseas students, will be interviewed by telephone.
International & EU requirements
English language requirements
All teaching at Royal Holloway (apart from some language courses) is in English. You will therefore need to have good enough written and spoken English to cope with your studies right from the start.
The scores we require
IELTS: 6.5 overall Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
Pearson Test of English: 61 overall. Writing 69. No other subscore lower than 51.
Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.
Country-specific requirements
For more information about country-specific entry requirements for your country please see here.
The course prepares students with the skills and knowledge to pursue doctoral study, and for a wide range of professional occupations where the ability to understand and explain complex information is key. Our recent graduates have gone on to pursue careers in education, media, law, the culture and heritage industry, and many other related fields.
* and ** These tuition fees apply to students enrolled on a full-time basis in the academic year 2025/26. Students studying on the standard part-time course structure over two years are charged 50% of the full-time applicable fee for each study year.
Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase all postgraduate tuition fees annually. For further information, see fees and funding ,and terms and conditions.
** This figure is the fee for EU and international students starting a degree in the academic year 2025/26. Find out more
*** These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2025/26 academic year, and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included.
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