Medieval History MA (Honours)

The MA (Hons) in Medieval History will teach you to engage with sophisticated modes of thought and expression across medieval Europe and the Middle East. You will grapple with complex issues and gain a clear understanding of the historical background which underlies the present day.

Students who study medieval history will engage with a wide variety of historical issues and geographic locations to suit different interests, whether that be in early Islamic Iran, the Britons and Saxons, medieval political thought, or queenship.

The Department of Medieval History at St Andrews is one of the biggest in the UK, and medieval history has been taught at St Andrews for over 50 years.

Entry requirements

The University offers different entry requirements, depending on your background. Find out more about Standard, Minimum and Gateway entry requirements using academic entry explained and see which entry requirements you need to look at using the entry requirements indicator.

For degrees combining more than one subject, the subject with the higher entry requirements determines the grades you need. You will also need to meet any further subject-specific entry requirements as outlined on their pages.

• Standard entry grades:

  AAAAB, including A in History.

  Minimum entry grades:

  AABB, including B in History.

  Gateway entry grades:

  Applicants who have narrowly missed the minimum entry grades, but meet the University's contextual criteria, may be interested in one of the University’s Gateway programmes.

• Standard entry grades:

  AAA, including A in History.

  Minimum entry grades:

  ABB, including B in History.

• Standard entry grades:

  38 (HL 6,6,6), including HL6 in History.

  Minimum entry grades:

  36 (HL 6,5,5), including HL5 in History.

General entry requirements

All applicants must have attained the following qualifications, or equivalent, in addition to the specific entry requirements for individual programmes.

• SQA National 5 (B) in English and one SQA National 5 (B) from the following:

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computing science
  • Geography
  • Applications of Mathematics
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Psychology.

• GCSE (5) in English language or English literature, and one GCSE (5) from the following:

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computing Science
  • Geography
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Psychology.

Other qualifications

We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry on to our programmes. Please see our entry requirements for more information.

More information on how to apply via other entry routes or accreditation of prior learning and experience can be found on the University’s entry requirements web page.

Do I need to have studied this subject before?

Students must have studied History at SQA Higher, GCE A-Level or equivalent.

Alternative study options

Students interested in this course may also be interested in the following:

Study abroad

Medieval history students can apply to participate in the University-wide St Andrews Abroad programme. You may also have the opportunity to participate in the School Abroad exchange programme. For information about study abroad options, please see the study abroad site.

International applicants

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide an English language test score to evidence your English language ability. Find out more about approved English language tests and scores for this course.

Careers

History students at St Andrews have traditionally moved into a very wide range of careers on graduating. Some continue their academic careers via a postgraduate training degree to doctoral study either in St Andrews or at another university. Other students have often progressed to postgraduate qualifications in teaching, law or accountancy. 

Recent medieval history graduates have found careers as: 
development officer for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland 
inspector of taxes for HMRC. 

A degree in history will provide you with transferable skills that will equip you for a future career in many sectors. These skills include: 

• focused research and critical analysis 
• group work 
• oral and written expression 
• project planning 
• time management.

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students to build their employability skills.