Medieval History

Entry requirements

Applicants for this course should have achieved a UK High 2:1 Honours Degree.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The University, in existence for 800 years, has a wealth of medieval buildings and traditions, and a wide range of medieval manuscripts and printed books are held by the University’s many libraries. This rich history makes Cambridge an ideal place to study medieval history.

The MPhil in Medieval History forms an integral part of the teaching and research in the Cambridge History Faculty, which is widely regarded as one of the best in the world. The course offers students intensive training in medieval concepts and methods and helps students to develop skills in Latin and palaeography which they will use to research a key theme in medieval history.

The MPhil in Medieval History combines taught and research elements over a nine-month full-time programme. The taught elements include taught modules on research topics and skills training, training workshops and seminars, and all students will also complete a long piece of independent research (15,000–20,000 words).

Throughout the course the student will be supervised by a dedicated member of staff, who will guide research on the subject that he or she has chosen, leading to the completion of an original piece of historical research in the form of a dissertation. In addition, students will benefit from Cambridge’s vibrant research environment by participating in classes, workshops and other events, and by attending seminars given by guest speakers.

The course is designed for those who have completed degrees in which History is the main or at least a substantial component and who want to consolidate their knowledge of medieval history. It is particularly appropriate for those who may wish to continue on to a PhD, at Cambridge or elsewhere. It is also well-suited to those who seek simply to explore medieval history at a deeper level. It is expected that this will be the normal means by which those without an appropriate master’s degree from elsewhere will prepare for the PhD degree in medieval history at Cambridge.

Learning outcomes

Students will be provided with an in-depth study of some of the key areas of research in medieval history as well as the historiographical knowledge and the analytical and technical skills to support work in their field. All students will have a supervisor who will guide them through the requirements of the course and, most crucially, the dissertation.

In this manner, all students are provided with the historiographical knowledge and analytical skills necessary to understand and evaluate existing research and to pursue research in their own fields of intellectual interest. Through individual supervisions and classes, students are introduced to the more specialised and intensive nature of research required at a postgraduate level.

By the end of the course, students will have:

• developed a deeper understanding of their chosen area of medieval history and the critical debates within it
• a conceptual and technical understanding that enables the evaluation of current research and methodologies
• the ability to situate their own research within current and past methodological and interpretative developments in the field