Medieval Studies

Overview

The Medieval Studies programme from University of Birmingham   offers wide-ranging expertise across the medieval period (c. 300 to c. 1500). It covers the countries of western Europe, Scandinavia, the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, Central Asia and China, from a broad range of thematic perspectives including religious cultures, socio-economic history, the Crusades, Islamic history, gender, manuscript studies, drama, regional literatures and history (West Midlands, Scotland, Spain, Iceland, Byzantium, northern Eurasia), material culture, comparative history and the ‘global Middle Ages’.

Why study this course?

• Excellent research reputation - Times Higher Education ranked the Department of History first in the country for its performance in the latest Research Excellence Framework exercise.
• Global approach - You will have the opportunity to study anything from the Vikings to Islam in Afghanistan. This is unparalleled in the UK. 
• Employability - You will be able to use this programme as a launch pad for further careers within or outside of academia, obtaining a firm grounding in historical methods, and a broad knowledge of relevant topics through coursework and engaging with the academic community at Birmingham and beyond. 
• Community – You will be able to attend regular seminars delivered by academics from other institutions, organised by the Centre for the Study of the Middle Ages and the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies. 
• Research networks - Postgraduate students across several schools run their own research network, the EMREM Forum (Early Medieval - Medieval - Renaissance - Reformation - Early Modern). The EMREM Forum organises regular seminars, training sessions, writing workshops and an annual postgraduate conference that has inspired similar ventures at other universities.